Russian Prime Minister Visiting Poland

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov arrived on a two-day official visit in Poland yesterday. He met his Polish counterpart Leszek Miller and afterwards he traveled to the city of Lodz where he attended a meeting of the Russian-Polish Business Council. Mr Kasyanov will meet Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski today.

As a Rosbalt correspondent was informed by the Polish Foreign Ministry, the main topics of discussion at the meeting will be economic (Russian gas supplies to Poland, cooperation in agriculture and coal mining) and also issues concerning Poland's entry into the EU, including the introduction of visa regulations.

This is already the second visit by Mr Kasyanov to Poland. This is of no little importance for the ruling party of Poland. The Polish government has said that Russian-Polish relations have significantly improved and there is now a much better political dialogue.

Mr Kasyanov's first visit to Poland was in May 2001. The annual trade turnover between Russia and Poland is USD 6 billion.