 He congratulated Yanukovych, followed shortly afterwards by Belаrussian president Alexander Lukashenko, on his victory before election results were even made official and made statements opposing the rerun of the disputed second round of elections, won by Yanukovych, amid allegations of large-scale voting fraud.The second round was ultimately rerun; Yushchenko won the round and was eventually declared the winner on January 10, 2005.In the West, the reaction to Russia's handling of, or perhaps interference in, the Ukrainian election evoked echoes of the Cold War, but relations with the U.S. have remained stable.