MOSCOW, Nov. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday accused Western countries of intervening in Ukraine's election crisis in an attempt to encourage the former Soviet state to move towards the West.

    "Some European capitals have refused to recognize the election and have put forward the thesis that Ukraine should be with the West," Lavrov said at a press conference, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.

    "Russia is not indifferent to what happens in Ukraine," said Lavrov, adding that the Russian government is alarmed by the attempts of some countries to steer the situation in Ukraine from a legal path.

    "Geographically Ukraine is near the West but also near Russia,"he said. "We hope that the world will respect the choice of the Ukrainian people, respect its right to decide on its own its internal affairs."

    "Such statements (by some western countries) make you think that somebody really wants to draw new dividing lines in Europe," said the top Russian diplomat.

    On Wednesday, Ukraine's Central Election Commission declared Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich winner of the presidential elections. The Western-leaning opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko rejected the result and called for a national strike.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Uzbek and Kyrgyz counterparts, Islam Karimov and Askar Akayev have congratulated Yanukovich on his victory.

    In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said Thursday that China respects Ukrainian people's choice in their country's presidential election and sincerely wishes a stable Ukraine with a developed economy.

    Meanwhile, the European Union and the United States have backedthe opposition and have refused to recognize the election result as legal.

    European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Wednesday the election's procedures failed to conform to "international standards" and called for a review of the procedures before the result was announced. Enditem