Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said on Wednesday the improvement in relations between Russia and Ukraine will give a boost to the country's economy.
"Today we can surely say that a positive breakthrough in Ukrainian-Russian relations has taken place," Azarov told a Cabinet session.
"Now we definitely have confidence that Ukraine will rapidly start renewing its economic potential," he added.
Azarov praised the results of a meeting of the intergovernmental committee for economic cooperation between Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Friday.
In Sochi, Azarov and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed cooperation in more than 10 spheres, including oil, gas, nuclear energy and defense.
The Ukrainian premier said a number of issues that had hindered bilateral ties under the previous president, Viktor Yushchenko, had been resolved at the meeting.
He also said a strategic road map of bilateral relations was agreed on in connection with the deal signed by the countries' leaders in late April on extending Russia's use of a naval base in Crimea and giving Kiev a 30% discount on Russian natural gas.
The Ukrainian premier said earlier the agreement opened a new page in mutually beneficial cooperation between Kiev and Moscow and left behind an era of hostility.
In particular, the Russian government signed a decision on abolishing customs duties on gas, which will have a positive effect on Ukraine's economy, he said.
The Ukrainian premier said the gas discount (worth some $40 billion) has allowed the approval of the 2010 budget and the increase of salaries and pensions in Ukraine, and also avoided a rise in gas prices for Ukrainian consumers.
Azarov also said Ukraine and Russia were ready for joint cooperation in the nuclear energy sphere. "We will together build a plant producing nuclear fuel in Ukraine," he said.
The Ukrainian premier said Kiev will receive a Russian loan for the construction of two nuclear reactors.
KIEV, May 5 (RIA Novosti)
