OREANDA-NEWS. On May 31, 2012 the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine had a telephone conversation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov.

During the conversation heads of the foreign ministers of both countries noted that exactly on this day 15 years ago in Kyiv has been signed the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership between Ukraine and the Russian Federation (so-called "Big Treaty") which affirmed the principle of strategic partnership between our states.

At that it was stressed that the Treaty is a cornerstone of the foundation of the Ukrainian-Russian bilateral cooperation based on mutual interest in establishing filled with practical sense mutually beneficial, most close and broad cooperation in all areas. The signing of the Treaty is an important stage in the development of Ukrainian-Russian interstate relations.