Javier Solana: Ukraine can count on Europe's friendship

The &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/main/18/89/356/9937_WTO.html ' target=_blank>European Union's foreign policy chief met Ukrainian president-elect Viktor Yushchenko on Friday and said it was up to him and his people to work hard to achieve their objective of moving toward the West.

&to=http:// english.pravda.ru/diplomatic/2002/05/22/29076.html ' target=_blank>Javier Solana, speaking as officials compiled lists of guests for the liberal leader's Sunday inauguration, said it was even conceivable one day for Ukraine to join the trade bloc.

Yushchenko, elected after weeks of turmoil in the ex-Soviet state, intends to turn the ceremony into a national holiday -- including an address to crowds in Kiev's main square, reports the China Daily.

"You can count on Europe's friendship and deep cooperation, the extent of which will depend on how much Ukraine aspires to it," Interfax quoted Solana saying later during a meeting with Volodymyr Litvin, parliament speaker.

Yushchenko's first full day as a head of state will be spent in Moscow, a symbolic visit aimed at soothing the tensions that flared during the election campaign as Russian President &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/main/18/88/353/12157_Putin.html ' target=_blank>Vladimir Putin supported his electoral rival Viktor Yanukovich.

On Tuesday he will start a four-day European coming-out tour that will include a speech at the European Parliament and meetings with the world's economic heavyweights at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, writes the Turkish Press.