To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the conduct of recent elections in Ukraine; and if he will make a statement.

As I said in my statement to the House on 30 October 2012, Hansard, column 160, the preliminary report from the international election observers indicates a number of shortcomings the way in which the elections were conducted. We hope that in the remaining stages of the electoral process, in any appeals that follow, and, crucially, in how the Ukrainian Government conduct themselves after the elections, we will not see the wholesale democratic backsliding that we fear and that would set back Ukraine's relationship with Europe.

The UK remains a strong supporter of Ukraine's European aspirations. We will urge the new Ukrainian Government, when they are formed, to address what needs to be done to bring new vigour to the process of building and sustaining healthy and robust democratic institutions.