Ukraine's new president Viktor Yushchenko said in Moscow Monday that Russia is Ukraine's eternal strategic partner.

Meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on Monday, the newly inaugurated Ukrainian president said that "Russia is an eternal strategic partner of Ukraine" and the major purpose of his visit to Moscow, the first foreign trip since he was sworn in on Sunday, is to improve bilateral relations, Itar-Tass news agency reported.

Putin responded that it is a good sign that Yushchenko makes his first visit to Russia just after the inauguration, stressing that Russia and Ukraine should develop economic cooperation and interaction within the Common Economic Space that is also jointly developed by Kazakhstan and Belarus.

The Russian leader expressed the hope that after the establishment of a new Ukrainian government, discussions could be continued on bilateral cooperation not only in the energy sector but also in other fields.

Yushchenko noted that Ukraine has gone through a dramatic six-month period, which was the most difficult period in Ukrainian history.

Seeing that the political turmoil triggered by the controversial presidential campaign has ended and situation in Ukraine stabilized, Putin said he wants to steadily develop trusty relations with the new Ukrainian leadership just like with the previous one.

Acknowledging that Ukraine's domestic and foreign policies will have changes under the new leadership, Putin expressed the hope that bilateral relations will maintain its continuity.

"We are counting on continuity," Putin stressed.

Yushchenko arrived in Moscow on Monday afternoon for a brief working visit. The 50-year-old new state leader has pledged to steer Ukraine on a new course, fighting corruption and forging closer ties with the European Union while maintaining traditional good relations with Russia.

(Xinhua News Agency January 25, 2005)