(AP) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday visited Ukraine for talks on ways to improve often tense relations between the two ex-Soviet neighbors.
"I have every ground to state that today we will all be witnesses to the change in our relations from being based on ideology to a healthy pragmatism," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk said at the start of talks.
The talks were expected to focus on improving bilateral ties, but more sensitive issues, such as the continued stay of Russia's Black Sea Fleet on Ukrainian territory, were also expected to be addressed, reports Trend.
Under a 1997 agreement that divided the Soviet Union's Black Sea fleet between Russia and Ukraine, the Russian navy was allowed to remain in Sevastopol until 2017, paying an annual rent of $93 million (-73 million).
Russia has said it would like to extend the lease, while Ukrainian nationalists have balked, complaining that Russia has abused the current lease by taking over lighthouses that weren't part of the original deal. Russia has insisted the lighthouses are covered by the contract.
Tarasyuk, who heads a Ukrainian nationalist party, has had difficult relations with Moscow. He is one of the leading advocates of bringing Ukraine into NATO and of shaking off Kremlin influence over this ex-Soviet republic.
Ukraine's prime minister, Viktor Yanukovych, who has advocated a more pro-Russian course, has repeatedly complained about Tarasyuk's presence in his Cabinet. But under Ukrainian law, the president gets to pick the foreign minister, and Tarasyuk was the choice of the Pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko.