KIEV, Ukraine: The front-runner in Ukraine's presidential race said Tuesday he would seek a better gas deal with Russia if elected.
Opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych, the chief target of the 2004 Orange Revolution, took a 10-percent lead in the first round of Ukraine's presidential Sunday over his rival, Orange heroine and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko - a result confirmed by full preliminary results of the vote released Tuesday.
But Yanukovych's advantage after Sunday's vote could prove illusory when the two go head-to-head in the final round of voting Feb. 7.
Many expect a close race between the two candidates, who both have pledged to improve ties with Russia.
In the first round, Yanukovych performed best in Russia-speaking Ukraine's east, while Tymoshenko was the top vote-getter in Ukraine's west.
With all precincts in Sunday's vote counted, Yanukovych won 35.32 percent of votes while Tymoshenko trailed with 25.05 percent, according to Central Election Commission. It said Tuesday that full official results would be announced later.
Yanukovych quickly hit the campaign trail, traveling Tuesday to the Cherovtsy region in western Ukraine, one of the areas where Tymoshenko won the most votes Sunday.
He said he would seek changes in a 2009 gas deal with Russia that ended a bitter price and contract dispute between the two neighbors which resulted in a two-week shutdown of gas supplies to European customers.
Many in Ukraine criticized the deal negotiated by Tymoshenko's Cabinet as hurting Ukraine's interests.
"I would insist on revising the agreement," Yanukovych said Tuesday.
He added that he would also push for Ukraine to join the prospective Nord Stream natural gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea that Russia plans to build to bypass Ukraine.
Ukraine's Orange Revolution five years ago, triggered by allegations of presidential election fraud against Yanukovych, led a court to order a revote that Orange leader Viktor Yushchenko then won.
Many Orange protesters had dreamed of breaking Ukraine's historical dependence on Moscow and becoming part of Western Europe, and Yushchenko has challenged Moscow and sought to forge closer ties with the West.
But a battle with Russia over energy prices, the 2008 Russia-Georgia war and one of the worst recessions in Europe all seemed to demonstrate that Ukraine cannot manage on its own without support from Russia, its historic ally and biggest trading partner.
Despite their policy and personality differences, Tymoshenko and Yanukovych both promise to develop better ties with Moscow.
Tymoshenko's deputy, Grigory Nemyria, reaffirmed Tuesday that she will try to build stable relations with Russia while pursuing a bid to join the European Union if elected.
