Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko has voiced willingness to host her Turkish counterpart, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in Kiev before the year ends.

Her remarks came yesterday in Kiev while meeting with Turkey's Parliament Speaker Köksal Toptan, on an official visit to Ukraine. "We await Turkey's prime minister in Ukraine within the year," Tymoshenko was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency.
Characterizing bilateral relations between Turkey and Ukraine as excellent, Toptan said that Ankara and Kiev's stances concerning regional and international affairs were similar. "It is possible for us to improve our relations by taking encouragement from this," Toptan added. Noting that direct Turkish investment in the Ukraine totals $1 billion, while contract services by Turkish firms there amount to $2 billion, the speaker expressed pleasure that major companies from Turkey have been making significant deals with Ukraine.

"During a meeting with businessmen here, I saw that they are happy to invest in Ukraine. For this reason, I thank Mrs. Prime Minister. … Our relations will take on new momentum this year via visits by our prime minister and president," Toptan said.

While in Ukraine, Toptan also met with President Viktor Yushchenko and Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) Arseniy Yatsenyuk. Toptan, who was accompanied by a parliamentary delegation and his spouse, Saime, arrived back in Ankara later the same day.

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