President Yushchenko meeting Putin

In Astana, Victor Yushchenko is meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, presidential press office reported.

In his opening statement, the Head of State said that in the past months Ukrainian-Russian relations had been quite tense. Commenting on gas talks, he noted that Ukraine and Russia had managed to negotiate clear-cut cooperation principles and congratulated the both sides on solving the problem. The President also expressed confidence that, apart from energy issues, there were many important subjects to discuss. These topics are particularlystipulated by a “road map” project. Yushchenko hopes it will be signed soon. He also insisted that the Yushchenko-Putin Commission was really important.

“This is a great initiative for the presidents, and it helps to control the settlement of controversial problems at the top level,” he said.

In his turn, Putin also said he was convinced that there were many areas for bilateral cooperation, particularly in the economic and humanitarian field.The Russian leader added that he hoped Russia and Ukraine could have “various directions of interaction.”