BRUSSELS, July 2 - Vyacheslav Kyrylenko, the leader of President Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine party, said he was "cautiously optimistic" that the snap Sept. 30 election may improve ties between the country and the European Union.

“I think we are seen as being part of the European family,” Kyrylenko said in Brussels, according to EU Politix, a Website focusing on European policy and politics.