Official website of the President of Russia

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President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Mr Prime Minister,

I am very glad to see you again. This year has been very rich in events for our relationship. Although it began with a tragedy, recently we have been able to significantly advance the development of Russian-Polish dialogue.

I am very pleased that the official visit of the President of Russia to Poland is taking place now, in early December. This has been a long-awaited visit, as there has been a gap of many years. I hope that the official part of my visit, informal contacts, our talks with the President and with the Prime Minister, and my other contacts, will significantly intensify our relations and take them to a new level, helping us review the most difficult issues of our history openly and without deception.

I would like to tell you that Russia is ready for this. As you know, I have taken some serious steps recently to ensure that the burden of the past which dominates our relations, including the Katyn tragedy, remains in the past forever and does not afflict the relations between our peoples in the present, in contemporary life.

There are a number of economic projects that I think we should focus on. That is primarily the responsibility of our governments but I am prepared to discuss these issues. A number of important documents will be signed today. We agreed to intensify our humanitarian ties and to organise youth exchanges. All these issues and much of the work will clearly fall within the competence of our governments. So today, I think we have launched a new development trend and that is very important.

Once again, I would like to say that I am very glad to see you.

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