Yanukovych's visit to Moscow had clear practical content – Foreign Ministry

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's visit to Russia was an event of great importance in promoting Ukrainian-Russian relations, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.

"Yanukovych's working visit was important for facilitating Ukrainian-Russian dialogue. It had a clear practical content and its goal was to set joint projects in motion and resolve individual economic problems," Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Oleksandr Dykusarov said at a press briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday.

It is important for Ukraine, Dikusarov said, to overcome barriers in bilateral trade given restrictions on trading in metals products and the introduction of the recycling fee in the automobile trade.

"We will also continue the search for optimal forms for Ukraine's economic cooperation and trade with Russia and the Customs Union states," he said.

The signing of the Ukrainian-Russian readmission agreement is of strategic importance and is playing a special role in introducing visa-free travel with the European Union, he said.

"Generally, the talks between the Ukrainian and Russian leaders reaffirmed the high intensity and practical value of the summit dialogue for ordinary citizens," Dikusarov said.

It was the fifth Yanukovych-Putin meeting in 2012 and the tenth over the past two years, he said.