Ukraine President Picks Russian Adviser

President Viktor Yushchenko appointed a liberal Russian politician and former lawmaker as his adviser, his office said Monday. Boris Nemtsov, a leader of Russia's Union of Right Forces party, has been named as an "external adviser," a statement from Yushchenko's office said. Nemtsov staunchly backed Yushchenko during the so-called "Orange Revolution," named after the opposition's campaign color, which followed November's fraudulent presidential runoff. Yushchenko was elected in a rerun Dec. 26. Nemtsov is an opposition politician and critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who backed Yushchenko's opponent in Ukraine's election. In a statement, Yushchenko's spokeswoman Irina Herashchenko said "Ukraine's new leaders are interested in every politician or representative of the business elite who can add something to developing bilateral ties to work as a goodwill ambassador." Yushchenko has pledged to push his country toward membership in the European Union, but stressed his new government must create a constructive relationship with its main trading partner, Russia.