Putin's role — and Russia's more broadly — in the election has provoked sharp criticism in Ukraine, in Europe and even in Russia. He all but endorsed Yanukovich, who promised to carry on Kuchma's policies of centralized power and to improve social and economic relations with Russia.

Putin visited Ukraine before each round of the election, meeting with Yanukovich. He also invited Yanukovich to his birthday party in Moscow. State television in Russia, as well as Russian political analysts with ties to the Kremlin, ignored or vilified Yushchenko.

Putin again found himself in opposition to European leaders, highlighting the Cold War-like divisions exposed by the election in Ukraine. President Aleksandr Kwasniewski of Poland, who oversaw the effort on Wednesday night to mediate, backed Yushchenko's call for a new runoff.

Mykolo V. Tomenko, a member of parliament and a backer of Yushchenko, criticized Putin for negotiating in bad faith and said Kuchma's meeting with him raised fears of drastic measures, including a declaration of a state of emergency.

"I think this meeting between Kuchma and Putin is a withdrawal from yesterday's understandings reached with the Europeans," he said in a telephone interview.

Kuchma, however, praised Putin and Russia's role. "Without the Russian Federation's direct involvement in the settlement of this political crisis, Ukraine will not be able to resolve the crisis without losing face," he said.

The Bush administration chose to emphasize the positive aspects of Putin's comments, particularly his support of the idea that the election in Ukraine had been flawed and that it was important to retain the country's territorial integrity.

Richard A. Boucher, the State Department spokesman, said Russia and the United States were "pretty much on the same track" regarding Ukraine.

At a meeting in Washington with President Olusegan Obasanjo of Nigeria, President Bush said the United States would "continue to monitor and be involved" in encouraging a peaceful resolution to the issue but that any election "must reflect the will of the people and not that of any foreign government."

The agreement on Wednesday, announced by Kuchma, raised hopes for a political compromise, including new elections and a restructuring of the country's political system, shifting some power from the centralized presidency to the parliament.

Among the foreign envoys participating was Boris V. Gryzlov, the speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament and a close Putin ally. For reasons that were not made clear, he arrived two hours after the parties began talks. At one point, Yanukovich emerged from the talks and asked where Gryzlov was.