Ukraine highly values strategic ties with U.S. - Yushchenko
05/09/2008 16:54 KIEV, September 5 (RIA Novosti) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko told U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney on Friday that he greatly values the strategic bilateral relationship between Kiev and Washington.
After visits to Azerbaijan and Georgia, Cheney arrived in Ukraine on Thursday to discuss bilateral cooperation and the situation in Georgia. His visit to Tbilisi came a day after Washington had pledged $1 billion in reconstruction aid for the South Caucasus country, which fought a brief war with Russia over South Ossetia last month.
"We value extremely highly our strategic bilateral relations," Yushchenko said after a one-on-one meeting with Cheney.
He said Ukraine had a "mutual understanding with the United States and the European countries on the majority of issues, including Georgia."
Cheney is also due to meet with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko and Defense Minister Yuriy Yehanurov.
Georgia attacked South Ossetia on August 8 in an attempt to regain control over the republic, which split from Tbilisi in the early 1990s. Many residents of South Ossetia hold Russian citizenship, and Moscow subsequently launched an operation to "force Georgia to peace." The operation, which was criticized as excessive by many Western leaders, was concluded on August 12.
On August 26, Moscow recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another republic which split from Georgia after the collapse of the U.S.S.R., as independent states despite warnings from Western leaders not to do so.
