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Putin hopes Russia-Ukraine consultations to make progress on some issues

Russia's president: we have every opportunity to enhance our legal and contractual basis and to create every condition necessary to advance Russian-Ukrainian economic ties

© ITAR-TASS/Mikhail Klimentyev

MOSCOW, December 17 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Vladimir Putin hopes that in the course of inter-state consultations Russia and Ukraine will be able to make progress on a number of issues.

“I hope that we shall be able to move forward in addressing the most sensitive issues,” Putin said in his opening remarks at a meeting with Yanukovich.

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Roadmap on removing trade barriers to be submitted to Russia-Ukraine interstate commission

He said that Ukraine “is our full-fledged strategic partner beyond any doubt.”

The Russian president recalled that over the past two years Russian-Ukrainian trade showed a decline - by 11% in 2012 and by 14.5% in 2013.

“Time is ripe for taking resolute action in order to get back to the previous level and to create conditions for onward movement,” Putin said.

He recalled that Russian and Ukrainian heads of government and government ministers had done a very good job lately in some key areas - energy, machine-building, space, aircraft-building and ship-building.

“We have every opportunity to enhance our legal and contractual basis and to create every condition necessary to advance Russian-Ukrainian economic ties,” Putin said.

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