speaking eastern areas which backed him earlier. Pressed by Yushchenko during a television debate to explain mass rigging, he called on his rival to hold talks on the country's post-election future. Yanukovich, still formally in office despite being dismissed by parliament after the Supreme Court ruling, said he feared the election could yet descend into bloodshed. "Let us hope to God that no blood is spilled on election day," Interfax Ukraine quoted him as saying. His pleas for a discussion on how to guard against violence had gone unanswered. --MORE 2322 Local Time 2022 GMT
