Letter from Moscow

Polish-Russian relations took a surprising step forward, after Russian President Vladimir Putin dispatched an envoy to Warsaw.

The two countries' relations chilled after a number of trade disputes, but relations appear to now be more cordial.

Sergei Yastrzhembsky, a senior adviser to the Russian President, brought a personal letter from Putin to President Lech Kaczyński and said his visit moved the two countries closer to a full presidential meeting.

"I hope that we will take concrete action, which will lead to a change in the tone of Polish-Russian relations," Yastrzhembsky said, after a meeting with Kaczyński and Foreign Minister Stefan Meller.

Earlier in February, Kaczyń-ski said he had received "certain signals" from Russia that could lead to better relations between the two nations. At the same time, Putin said that Poles and Russians were "one family" and should abandon unnecessary disputes.

"This visit is a good sign," Foreign Minister Meller said. "I do not know if it is a breakthrough but it is a very important event."

Any meeting between the two presidents is still on the long finger. President Kaczyński recently said he was willing to meet the Russian leader, but not in Moscow, in protest over Putin's reluctance to visit Poland.

Many exporters will welcome the thawing of relations. Poland's support of the pro-Western government in Ukraine had angered Moscow, which last year banned food exports from Poland to Russia. Relations further worsened when Russia incensed Warsaw by negiotiating with Germany for an undersea gas pipeline project, which would bypass Poland. (Reuters)