Secretariat Chief of Staff Viktor Baloha met with his Kremlin counterpart, Sergey Sobyanin, Secretary of the Russian Security Council Igor Ivanov and Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Grigoriy Karasin on Wednesday, president's press office reported.
He said the meetings had been "friendly and warm." They agreed to resolve problems in relations between Ukraine and Russia as soon as possible and renew "traditional Slavic ties," which our nations have been building for centuries.
They spoke about Victor Yushchenko’s visit to Russia. They also agreed to prepare a full text of a 2007-2008 Ukraine-Russia action plan by March 1 to submit it to the presidents for approval. The two countries will also more actively prepare a strategic partnership declaration, which they hope to sign in May or June during the second meeting of the Yushchenko-Putin Commission, and start talks to formulate and sign an energy cooperation memorandum.
They also discussed border and humanitarian issues, particularly how to protect Ukrainian citizens working in Russia under new immigration laws.
