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Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko is seen in this photograph shaking hands with his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said on Wednesday he planned to meet Russia's Dmitry Medvedev in Moldova next month even though the Kremlin chief has publicly written off doing business with him.

Asked whether he would see Medvedev when Commonwealth of Independent States leaders gather in Moldova on Oct. 9, Yushchenko told a news conference: "The meeting will take place. And I will take part in the council of (CIS) heads of state."

The comment was conciliatory given the sharpness of an attack last August by Medvedev on the pro-western Yushchenko which many analysts saw as being timed to influence the campaign for Ukraine's Jan. 17 presidential election.

In an open letter to the Ukrainian leader, Medvedev accused him of taking an "anti-Russian" course, announced he would put off sending a new Russian ambassador to Kiev and urged Ukraine's next leader to cooperate with Moscow.

Yushchenko, who came to power following peaceful pro-Western protests in 2004, has angered Moscow by continuing to pursue NATO membership for his country.

He further infuriated the Kremlin last year by declaring support for Georgia during its brief war with Russia.

He is seeking a second term in office in the Jan. 17 poll but his low public ratings, which are in single digits, suggest little chance of success.

It was not clear whether the Moldova meeting would amount to a real face-to-face encounter with substantive talks or a formal protocol meeting within the CIS family.

Yushchenko, at the Wednesday news conference, said however that the Kremlin chief's open letter had not been "ethical".

"It did not match up to our great friendship and cooperation agreement. It was not imbued with respect," he said.

In Moscow, Medvedev's spokeswoman Natalya Timakova poured cold water on Yushchenko's plans.

"If the president goes to Chisinau and Yushchenko goes to Chisinau they will indeed meet at the summit," she told reporters.

"As far as a separate bilateral meeting is concerned, we have not received so far any official request from Kiev and accordingly are not working on it," she added. "We learned about his plans from the media.

CLEAR SIGNAL

Analysts say Medvedev has clearly signalled to Ukraine that the departure of Yushchenko at the next election is a necessity if relations are radically to improve.

Yushchenko's approval ratings stand at a poor 4 percent.

Former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, whom Yushchenko ousted in an election re-run in December 2004 after a rigged first poll, has about 25 percent support in opinion polls.

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, Yushchenko's main political rival, has about 14 percent backing.

Russia wants to keep ex-Soviet Ukraine, which it traditionally supplies with 60 percent of its domestic gas needs, within its sphere of political influence.

It has an interest in having a pliant president in power in Kiev who would be more favourable to Russian business interests in Ukraine.

But overt interference by the Kremlin in next year's election could backfire -- as it did in 2004 when then President Vladimir Putin rushed to congratulate Yanukovich on victory on the basis of preliminary data.

"The influence (of Russia on the election) will be considerable, as always, but its consequences will be weak," Yushchenko said.