"I hope that gas agreements will be reached soon on mutually acceptable terms," the Russian diplomat said.
For his part, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostiantyn Hryshchenko noted that gas talks are held at the top level. "Our task is to help ensure that this important agreement in principle be consistent with the relations of strategic partnership and long-term interests of both countries," he said, adding that the "gas" issue was discussed Monday during a meeting of the two ministers.
Additionally, Lavrov called Ukraine a priority in Russian foreign policy. "For us the Ukrainian direction is a priority in foreign policy. We are neighbors, we share a common desire to live better, to make our economies more modern and prosperous," he underscored.
Lavrov also said that the relations between the two countries today are transparent and predictable, and an intensive political dialogue at the top level has been established, which also allows to conduct a dialogue on international issues.
The Russian top diplomat also noted that a major target for the development of bilateral relations should be a basic treaty of friendship signed in 1997 with clauses on a strategic partnership.
