Ukraine, Russia extending consular presence

Ukraine and Russia will extend their consular presence in the two countries, according to the agreement reached at the fifth meeting of the subcommittee on international cooperation of the Ukrainian-Russian Interstate Commission in Odesa.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostiantyn Hryshchenko said the expansion of the consular presence is important for the development of bilateral economic cooperation.the sides agreed on the opening of Ukraine’s consulate general in Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) and Russia’s consulate general in Donetsk (eastern Ukraine). Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in turn, said that Russia wanted to open its consulates general in Sevastopol, Uzhgorod, and Dnipropetrovsk. Hryshchenko noted that this year “very significant work was done to improve the Russian-Ukrainian relations, and it is giving real results.”