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President Vladimir Putin: Dear Leonid Danilovich, allow me to wish you a warm welcome to Moscow and thank you for responding so efficiently to my proposal to come here. The occasion seems to be good.

Mr Kuchma: It is an excellent occasion.

Mr Putin: Of course, I realise that this is only a pretext to “check our watches” on a number of aspects of bilateral relations. Of course, we wll be always interested in the situation in Ukraine, how it is developing today. And as you know, we have always strived for Ukraine to be a strong, independent and effectively developing country. This is what is happening now. In recent years, indeed, a great deal has changed. Of course, not all ordinary citizens feel it, many still have quite hard living, but we know about the positive tendencies in the development of the Ukrainian economy, which is also very important for us, as Ukraine is one of our most important trade and economic partners.

I think that today we will be able to discuss all of this, and also a number of other issues, including coordinating our efforts on the international stage.

Mr Kuchma: I accepted the invitation with pleasure, to have the chance once more to wish you a happy birthday, in person. But this is indeed just a pretext to exchange opinions on many issues at a bilateral level: everything that is happening around us and in the world as a whole cannot escape our attention.

I think that thanks to our joint position – and I am sure that we share the same views – it is easier to assert our interests. And also because we are able to thank each other when we meet – primarily from the viewpoint of the development of long-term economic relations – figures speak for this, and we often mention them.

Indeed, our meetings always give an additional stimulus to everything else. “The weather here is normal, there are no storms”, so let’s work and produce results for the good of our countries. Plus the fact that Ukraine is going through one of the important moments in its history – I constantly talk about this. I think that the answer to the question – “Who will it be?” – will affect the future of Ukraine most seriously. And probably not just Ukraine.

When I am asked about the election campaign of our main candidates, I say that I am not so much concerned about “Who will it be”, but “What will happen after the presidential elections?”

I mean what path Ukraine will take. Either the path chosen today, which has given results. These results are perhaps not felt fully by our citizens. Or the path which will annul everything that has been achieved over the last 10 years, and cast doubt on everything. And when something is cast into doubt, this at least means a stop, and perhaps movement in the opposite direction. And we all know what the result of this is.

I think that our meeting will make it possible for us to provide the right stimulus – at least to a certain degree.