Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has described his visit to Ukraine as a long-awaited one.
"This visit is a long-awaited one for us, and I hope for constructive and friendly talks," he said at a meeting with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in Kyiv on Monday.
Medvedev said that he had not been to Kyiv for a long time and that he "missed" the Ukrainian capital.
He said that "it is absolutely logical to start new relations" between Ukraine and Russian "with an official visit to the Ukrainian capital."
Medvedev also expressed hope that the negatives that accumulated in bilateral relations in recent years would disappear.
"I hope that the rain that poured [in the Ukrainian capital upon arrival of the Russian president] has washed away what happened in the previous negative period, and will give us a good basis for full-fledged, kind-hearted and friendly relations between our countries," Medvedev said.
He noted that this was his seventh meeting with Yanukovych.
Yanukovych, in turn, said that in a short period of time, the sides had managed to find mutually acceptable solutions that meet the interests of the two countries and the moods of the Ukrainian and Russian peoples.
He also noted that both Russia and Ukraine had long waited for the withdrawal of "an unclear, complex tone" in Ukrainian-Russian relations.
Yanukovych said that during Medvedev’s official visit to Kyiv, there would be "the continuation of a constructive dialog that will help take steps corresponding to the current stage of our relations."
He also said that issues of the fight against the crisis, as well as "issues in various spheres of life and, of course, trade and economic relations," should be discussed during the visit.
Yanukovych expressed hope that meetings between the heads of the two states would be frequent.
