Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said on Friday he recognized the gains of the 2004 Orange Revolution, saying it brought democracy and freedom of expression to Ukraine.
Yanukovych's pro-Western predecessor, Viktor Yushchenko, was elected in a runoff after the public protests and upheavals that followed Yanukovych's victory in a first round that international observers declared flawed.
Yanukovych, who was elected president at the start of this year, is on the last day of an official visit to the United States that started on Tuesday.
"People started feeling freer, started freely saying how they would like to live," he said, according to the ruling Party of Regions press service.
RIA Novosti
