Polish President to meet today with Russian counterpart for the first time

Today President Aleksander Kwasniewski will meet for the first time with Russian president Vladimir Putin. This visit is expected to ease the tense relations between the two countries. High-level diplomatic contacts have been practically non-existent since Poland joined the NATO alliance in March of last year despite Russian objections. Ties with Moscow worsened in January when Poland expelled nine Russian diplomats for alleged espionage. Sixty business people will accompany the Polish President, as one of the main issues to be discussed during the visit will be economic cooperation. Poland ended last year with a $2 billion trade deficit with Russia. (Gazeta Wyborcza, July 8-9, page 5, Reuters) A.D.