WASHINGTON, Nov 25 (AFP) - The political crisis in Ukraine has sparked another geopolitical headache for Washington that threatens to pitch the administration of George W. Bush up against Moscow.
The nuclear power that nestles Russia to its east was thrown into turmoil this week after tens of thousands of opposition supporters refused to accept the results of a presidential run-off election which the electoral authorities handed to pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich.
Thousands of Ukrainians have demonstrated daily in Kiev and across the country crying foul of the results announced Wednesday which the United States has rejected, but Russia has supported.
With the White House still leading the battle against insurgents in Iraq, vying to stabilize Afghanistan and keeping a close eye on Sudan's Darfur region, the last thing Washington wanted was a fresh dispute on Europe's eastern border with Russia.
"We see Ukraine as the key to stability in that rim of countries that were once part of the Soviet Union," said a State Department official who requested anonymity.
"Instability there would create problems that would make the Balkans look like nothing," the official cautioned.
Another State Department official, who also requested anonymity, said: "It would be irresponsible for us not to be concerned and involved."
"This is a country with a significant industrial base, sophisticated weapons systems and nuclear power that is sitting on the dividing line between Russia to the one side and NATO and the EU on the other," the same official said.
Although opposition protests have remained largely peaceful, US observers fear an outbreak of violence if protests persist that could potential create choas far beyond Ukraine's borders.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Wednesday insisted there was still time to correct the poll result without recourse to violence.
"It is still not too late for authorities to find a solution that respects the will of the Ukrainian people," he said.
European leaders have also demanded a review of how the election was conducted.
Ukraine's central electoral commission said Yanukovich had won Sunday's run-off election over the West-leaning Viktor Yushchenko by 49.46 percent compared to 46.61 percent, a difference of nearly one million votes.
Yushchenko continues to reject the outcome and has urged civil disobedience as his supporters said they would take their case to the supreme court.
Washington is walking a tricky diplomatic tightrope in rejecting the vote's outcome as the country sent some 1,600 troops to Iraq in support of the US campaign there.
However, Kiev has been one of the largest recipients of US foreign aid and Powell has talked of "consequences" if Ukraine's government fails to act.
"Between 1995 and 1999, Ukraine was the third largest receiver of US foreign aid," said Taras Kuzio, a professor of politics at George Washington University.
Asked what the "consequences" could be, Powell declined to detail any specifics and said Washington was waiting to see how the situation was resolved by Ukrainian authorities.
Following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Washington fostered close relations with Ukraine through the 1990s under President Bill Clinton as it sought to help the country of 48 million people disarm its nuclear stockpiles.
US and European officials have harbored hopes Ukraine would eventually join the NATO club, but Moscow has sought to continue its influence in Kiev.
The graphic divide has prompted some politicians and observers to warn that Ukraine might split in two, with more than 150 Ukrainian diplomats posted around the world recognising Yushchenko as the new president.
11/25/2004 11:21 GMT - AFP