BERLIN, Jan 23 (AFP) - Germany on Sunday congratulated Viktor Yushchenko after he was sworn in as president of Ukraine, and pledged to support his efforts to set the former Soviet republic on a pro-Western course.
"The peaceful change of government in Ukraine is a important contribution to stability and democracy across the entire region," the German foreign ministry said.
"Now is the time to set economic and political reforms in motion, and for all parties, after a tough electoral confrontation, to move closer to one another," it said in a statement.
"The German government will accompany Ukraine and strongly support it on the path of reform," the ministry added.
Parliament speaker Wolfgang Thierse, who represented Germany at the inauguration ceremony in Kiev, wished the new president "good luck".
"Today marks the happy end of the orange revolution, which Germany has followed with interest and sympathy," he said in a statement.
01/23/2005 14:22 GMT - AFP