He insistently called to guarantee unhampered public travel, and economic efficiency. It is necessary to boost economic progress and give it an all-round scope. That is the basis on which to improve public living standards.
A united economic environment, now in the making, has unified social standards among its central targets.
Improvements of Russo-Ukrainian relations came not with a wave of a wizard's wand. As the Soviet Union collapsed, Russia had first to realise that the new post-Soviet countries were not quasi-Soviet entities but full-fledged independent states to be treated accordingly, the President pointed out.
"I recently met [Ukrainian President] Leonid Kuchma at one of the CIS events. He very aptly described the developments in many post-Soviet countries. This is what he said: We thought it was enough to get far from Moscow, and offer frondeur attitudes to it-and we were at once to have a pocketful of dollars, roubles and hrivnas to afford all pleasures this life has to offer. We would live a life of plenty ever since, that's what we thought. That was not to come.
"Russia and its partners, Ukraine among them, became aware of their own national interests. We saw we could get our ends by working together, and teamwork is the best way to meet our goals. Once we properly saw it, we started to work more efficiently," said Mr. Putin.
