"I am pleased by the news that the Ukrainian people were able to express their choice for a new president," he said, noting the positive assessment of international election observers after the weekend polls.

"Ukraine is an important strategic partner for the Alliance, and we look forward to working with the new Ukrainian leadership to deepen our cooperation further," said the head of the West's former Cold War bloc.

Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko emerged the winner over Russian-backed outgoing prime minister Viktor Yanukovich in the polls Sunday, a re-run after November polls were annulled due to widespread vote-rigging.

The head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) added: "Clearly this development is relevant to NATO's political relationship with Ukraine.

"Our overriding goal -- to assist Ukraine to realize its euro-Atlantic aspirations and to promote stability in the region -- remains unchanged. We will continue to follow the events in Ukraine with utmost attention."

Yushchenko vowed before the presidential elections that he plans to lead Ukraine -- which is a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace -- into both NATO and the European Union (EU).

NATO and Russia issued a joint call for free and fair elections in Ukraine earlier this month, in what de Hoop Scheffer hailed as "a major breakthrough" in defusing tension between the West and Moscow.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.