On April 15, 2008, in the framework of the work visit to the Russian Federation, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Mr. Volodymyr Ogryzko held negotiations with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Mr. Sergey Lavrov in the tête-à-tête format and in extended participation. During the negotiations with the participation of members of the delegations of both parties, a wide range of urgent issues of the bilateral relations was discussed.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Mr. V.Ogryzko attracted attention of his Russian colleague to emergence of a number of undisguised anti-Ukrainian statements of the officials of the Russian Federation and emphasized inadmissibility of such facts in the relations of the two neighbor countries. The Minister V.Ogryzko commented some statements of the Russian politicians on entry of Ukraine into NATO and underlined that Ukraine would consistently defend securing and protection of its national interests in all areas later on and first of all in the sphere of ensuring security of our state. Mr. V.Ogryzko noted that NATO had been defined as such a security ensuring form for Ukraine being the basic joint security system. The Minister emphasized once again that entry of Ukraine into NATO is not aimed against another country.

Mr. V.Ogryzko and Mr. S.Lavrov discussed support of meeting of educational and cultural needs of the national minorities, the Ukrainian one in Russia and the Russian one in Ukraine, by both states. The Head of the foreign policy office of Ukraine urged the Russian party to solve the said issue on the parity principle. The Minister V.Ogryzko showed anxiety for protracted investigation process of murders of some activists of the Ukrainian public organizations in Russia. In response, Mr. S.Lavrov noted that the Russian party would ensure unbiased investigation of these facts.

The Heads of the foreign policy offices of Ukraine and the Russian Federation also focused their attention on commercial-economic cooperation between the two countries. A particular issue of the negotiations was demarcation of the territorial waters in the Azov Sea and the Kerch channel. The parties agreed in opinion on the need for intensification of the negotiation process on this issue.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Mr. V.Ogryzko delivered his Russian colleague Mr. S.Lavrov the Memorandum of the Stages and Procedure of Withdrawal of the Military Units of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation from the Places of the Temporary Disposition in the Territory of Ukraine till May 28, 2017, between Ukraine and the Russian Federation.