Putin, Timoshenko vow to boost bilateral trade amid disputes

Source: Xinhua | 02-21-2008 08:01

MOSCOW, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and visiting Ukraine Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko pledged on Wednesday to solve problems in bilateral relations and improve economic and trade ties.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) and Ukraine's Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko meet in the presidential residence Novo-Ogaryovo outside Moscow Feb. 20, 2008.  (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

"When we started discussing these problems, it turned out that all problems were solvable and we have no deep contradictions virtually over any of them," Putin told Timoshenko in his presidential residence near Moscow.

Relations between Moscow and Kiev witnessed up-and-downs in recent years due to disputes over gas price and Ukraine's closer ties with the West.

The latest gas debt issue was settled last Tuesday, when Putin and visiting Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko reached a deal on the payment of Ukraine's gas debt to Russia, avoiding a threatened cutoff in gas supplies.

The debt dispute had sent jitters through customers in Europe, who feared it could escalate into a repetition of a pricing row in2006 that led to supply disruptions across Europe after Russian gas monopoly Gazprom cut all gas supplies to Ukraine, a major transit route.

Putin said bilateral trade was growing despite all those disputes existed between the two countries while Timoshenko, in her turn, said the two states will set goals for bilateral trade.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R), Russia's  Ambassador to Ukraine Viktor Chernomyrdin (2nd R) and Ukraine's Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko meet in the presidential residence Novo-Ogaryovo outside Moscow Feb. 20, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

"Today's talks showed that the action plan mapped out by the presidents of Russia and Ukraine will be effectively translated into life and we will see the first results in April," she said.

Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov also pledged to further bilateral trade, which increased by 22 percent in 2007 to 30 billion U.S. dollars.

"We understand equally well that we have to look for mutually acceptable bilateral relations and build friendly, pragmatic and predictable relations," Zubkov said after talks with Timoshenko, noting the two country will enhance energy cooperation.

"Russian offers to Ukraine include not only transit, but also joint development of hydrocarbon fields in both countries with assets to be exchanged on a reciprocal basis," Zubkov said.

Russia, the world's No. 1 gas exporter, supplies some one quarter of Europe's gas market and most of them were piped via Ukraine.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei