Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko on Thursday rejected Moscow's recent accusations of anti-Russian course and said he was disappointed by the "unfriendly" message from his Russian counterpart, Russian news agencies reported.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, in an open letter to Yushchenko on Tuesday, described the current state of Russia- Ukraine relations as "crisis-ridden without an exaggeration."
Medvedev said he would postpone sending a new ambassador to Ukraine due to the anti-Russian policies of the Ukrainian leadership.
In response, Yushchenko said he was very disappointed with the unfriendly nature of Medvedev's letter.
"I can only agree that there are serious problems in relations between our countries, but it is strange that the Russian president totally rule out Russia's responsibility for this," Yushchenko said.
The Ukrainian president said Moscow's decision to hold off sending new ambassador to Ukraine would not help relations.
Yushchenko dismissed the Russian claims that Kiev supplied military aid to Georgia, with which Russia fought a five-day war last August, saying any arms delivered to the Caucasus state were in line with international law.
He also urged the Kremlin to respect Ukraine's sovereign right to join NATO.
Since pro-Western Yushchenko came to power in 2005, Russia and Ukraine have been at odds over a series of issues, ranging from Russian gas supply to Ukraine to Kiev's bid for NATO membership. The former Soviet republic is to hold presidential elections in January.
(Xinhua News Agency August 14, 2009)
