“The conversation was direct and open and as a result we issued several instructions and made amendments to the protocol. This is all very good. We agreed that we will keep our meetings that way in the future as well. We can’t have lengthy breaks in between these meetings,” Prime Minister Medvedev said, summing up the outcome of intergovernmental talks in Kiev.

“Ukraine has joined the list of Russia’s major trading partners, and that is absolutely normal in my view. This is Ukraine’s rightful place.”

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev presented the new Russian government to the Ukrainian prime minister and expressed his hope that it “will do everything it can to develop neighbourly and strategic relations with Ukraine.”

“We are focused on the comprehensive development of strategic cooperation with Ukraine as our closest neighbour and partner. For a variety of reasons, we simply have no grounds for reviewing our strategic priorities,” the prime minister said during the meeting.