Poland: Polish prime minister Donald Tusk has moved to mend strained relations with Russia, saying the two countries are "tired of an icy atmosphere".
After meeting Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow yesterday, Mr Tusk said it should be possible to create an atmosphere of "mutual respect" despite continued disagreement on energy, trade and defence issues.
"Unlike other politicians, I think that the existence of misunderstandings, coldness and tension make the ability to meet and talk to each other even more essential," said Mr Tusk in a dig at his predecessor, Jarsolaw Kaczynski. The latter's two-year rule brought relations with Moscow to a chilly stand-off.
Mr Putin described problems between the two countries as being "of a temporary character" and noted wryly that "despite all our efforts to spoil these relations, we have failed to do so".
Yesterday's meeting was one of style rather than substance after it emerged that both sides had "amicably" agreed to differ on two key points.
Warsaw is alarmed at plans by a Russian-German consortium to build a gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea, bypassing Poland.
Moscow is angered by possible Polish agreement to host part of a US missile defence system on its territory. "These issues are symmetrical," said Mr Tusk.
"Russia has to understand that [the missile defence system] is our decision, just as we have to understand some decisions are Russia's, as in the case of gas."
Mr Tusk has moved quickly to revive relations with Moscow since taking office in November.
He lifted Poland's opposition to Russian membership of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; Moscow agreed in turn to lift its ban on Polish meat imports.
Mr Tusk's decision to visit Moscow yesterday - before his inaugural Washington trip - is viewed as significant. When he does visit the White House next month, Mr Tusk will be much cooler than his predecessor on the missile shield plan.
Mr Putin attacked the US shield in a speech yesterday, saying it represented a "new twist in the arms race . . . to which Russia will always have a response".
Poland's new approach to Russian relations has been attacked by Mr Kaczynski, while even liberal commentators have warned that Mr Tusk will have to tread a fine line with Moscow.
"Tusk's government now finds itself in a situation where it has to avoid giving the impression that it is too soft, while at the same time demonstrating that it can deliver a breakthrough with Russia, which it has promised to voters," said Jacek Kucharczyk, research director of Warsaw's Institute of Public Affairs.
"What has changed [in Warsaw] is the way of dealing with this perceived threat. Poland is now bringing in other players rather than confronting Russia alone."