Yanukovych to make state visit to Russia this year, says ambassador

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych will make a state visit to Russia this year, Ukraine's Ambassador to Russia Volodymyr Yelchenko has said.

"This year we expect the state visit of the Ukrainian president to the Russian Federation, the participation of the two countries' presidents in a meeting of the Russian-Ukrainian Interstate Commission and the third Ukrainian-Russian Interregional Economic Forum in Nizhny Novgorod," the diplomat said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

According to him, all these events are scheduled to take place in Russia, while a meeting of the interstate commission or the interregional forum may take place during Yanukovych's state visit.

The ambassador also said that a meeting of the president of Ukraine and the president of the countries that are members of the Customs Union may be held soon. The exact date and place of the meeting, as well as its agenda, are currently being discussed, Yelchenko said.

In addition, the parties are preparing for a meeting of the economic cooperation committee of the Ukrainian-Russian Interstate Commission, which will be chaired by the prime ministers of the two countries, in the first half of this year.

Yelchenko also said that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara would visit Moscow on March 28-29.