Russia Ready To Establish Relations With Poland On Basis Of Pragmatism, Good-neighbourliness, Mutual Interests

Russia is ready to establish relations with Poland on the basis of pragmatism, good-neighbourliness and mutual interests, Russian Foreign Ministry's official spokesman Alexander Yakovenko told RIA Novosti in connection with Vladimir Putin's official visit to Poland scheduled for January 16-17. Moscow is satisfied with the successive development of Russian-Polish relations within 1.5 years after the first meeting between the Russian and Polish Presidents in Moscow in July 2000, the diplomat said. The Russian side "assigns priority to stable and predictable relations with Poland, a major European country, Russia's important economic partner and neighbour," Yakovenko stressed. According to the diplomat, the coming talks with the Polish authorities "give an opportunity to develop the political dialogue and to find points of contact on vital international issues and bilateral relations". The full version of Russian Foreign Ministry's official spokesman Alexander Yakovenko's interview with RIA Novosti is available at www.rian.ru.