Mr Viktor Yushchenko will be sworn in as the new president of Ukraine on Sunday to end weeks of turmoil and set the stage for the former-Soviet state to edge closer to Europe politically.
An overwhelming majority in parliament agreed to hold the inauguration in the chamber on Sunday. Mr Yushchenko, a former prime minister and central banker, wants the ceremony to be akin to a national holiday after 14 years of corrupt rule.
Secretary of State Colin Powell will attend the inauguration in a show of US support for the West-leaning leader.
Mr Yushchenko, his poll victory confirmed by the Supreme Court yesterday, is walking a tightrope in determining Kiev's future policy orientation.
Congratulated finally on his victory by Kremlin leader Mr Vladimir Putin, he fulfilled a longstanding promise to make Moscow his first foreign visit, agreeing to make a working visit to the Russian capital the day after his inauguration.
That gesture was aimed at millions of voters who supported his defeated rival, former prime minister Viktor Yanukovich - backed by Russia in the campaign's early stages.
"The development of good-neighbourly and equal relations with Ukraine is one of Russia's most important national priorities," Mr Putin said in a message on the Kremlin website.
Mr Yushchenko's Moscow talks are to be followed by an address at the Council of Europe, a major rights body in the French city of Strasbourg. He then flies to Poland for the 60th anniversary of the Soviet army's liberation of the Auschwitz death camp.