Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has formally congratulated Viktor Yanukovych on his victory in Ukraine's presidential election, Saakashvili's office said Thursday.
"The Georgian president congratulated Mr Yanukovych on his electoral victory and wished the Ukrainian people further democratic development" in a telephone conversation, Georgian presidential spokeswoman Manana Manjgaladze told AFP.
"The conversation was very warm and both sides expressed the wish for strong cooperation," she added.
Saakashvili enjoyed extremely close ties with former Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko, who was eliminated in the first round of the vote last month.
Yushchenko, who is godfather to one of Saakashvili's sons, made Ukraine one of Georgia's strongest supporters during its brief 2008 war with Russia over the breakaway South Ossetia region.
Saakashvili has insisted that ties between Georgia and Ukraine will remain strong regardless of who leads the country, but analysts say it's unlikely the pro-Russia Yanukovych will lend support to Tbilisi.
Relations could even turn hostile if Yanukovych follows through on earlier promises to recognise South Ossetia and Georgia's other rebel region Abkhazia as independent states.
Yanukovych beat Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko by almost 3.5% in Sunday's vote but Tymoshenko has yet to concede defeat and her party has alleged substantial violations which it says put the outcome in doubt.
Yanukovych was accused of rigging the last elections in 2004 that led to the so-called Orange Revolution but the election Sunday was praised as exemplary by Western observers and governments.