Yushchenko Says He Cannot Accept His Dioxin-Scarred Face

Ukraine's new president, Viktor Yushchenko, told reporters in Strasbourg on 25 January that he has not come to terms with his appearance following deliberate poisoning. "Frankly, I can't get used to this face," he said after addressing the Council of Europe's 46-nation parliamentary assembly.

The 50-year-old's appearance changed dramatically in early September 2004: his face swelled, his skin became severely pockmarked, and he appeared to age years within days. Testing at an Austrian clinic established that dioxin was the cause, administered intentionally.

Suspicion centered on the SBU, Ukraine's domestic intelligence service and successor to the Soviet KGB. Many of his supporters viewed the poisoning as an attempt by pro-Russia interests to remove a candidate who had campaigned on closer ties with the West.

Yushchenko won the presidency in a December re-run after a fraud-tainted November election was set aside. He defeated pro-Moscow former prime minister Viktor Yanukovich and succeeded the outgoing president, Leonid Kuchma.

At the Strasbourg event, he read aloud a physician's certificate stating his condition is not contagious and does not impair his capacity to govern. He also warned that the SBU would be restructured.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in January 2005, in its own words.