Ukraine, Italy presidents meets in Rome

Ukraine is on the whole pleased with the current relations with Italy, President Viktor Yushchenko said during his meeting with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano in Rome.

They focused on bilateral relations, particularly, settlement of problem issues of Ukrainian community in Italy, and the international community's memory of the Ukrainian Holodomor victims, the perspectives of Ukraine's European and Euroatlantic integration, and aftereffects of the Russia - Georgia conflict.

Yushchenko focused on Ukraine's interest in broadening trade and economic cooperation with Italy. In this context he reminded that in the past four years, the trade turnover between the two countries has nearly doubled. In the latter half of 2008, it was USD 2.6 billion, including USD 1.5 billion of exports.

Having pointed out invariability of Ukraine's Euroatlantic course. The President voiced hope that NATO member-countries would adequately take the question of Membership Action Plan to Ukraine this December. In this context, he spoke highly about Italy's support for the Bucharest summit of the Alliance on Ukraine.

In his turn, Napolitano expressed support to Ukraine's striving to join the Membership Action Plan at the December meeting of NATO foreign ministers.

The presidents of Ukraine and Italy expressed mutual concern over the situation in Georgia and Caucasus, and reached agreement that the principles of respect to independence and sovereignty of any country must be unswervingly observed.

Yushchenko expressed concern that the spread of the security zone eastward is in the EU's strategic interests. He also expressed the need for observance of security balance on the Black Sea.

UKRINFORM