BRUSSELS, December 7 (RIA Novosti) - Poland's prime minister will visit Russia in February 2008 for the first time since his October election victory, the Polish Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
Spokesman Piotr Paszkowski said that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, during a meeting with his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski, had "handed over President Vladimir Putin's invitation for Prime Minister Donald Tusk to pay a visit to Russia in February next year."
Lavrov and Sikorski met at the sidelines of a Russia-NATO Council session in Brussels to discuss the current state and prospects of bilateral relations.
"The ministers discussed the preparations for the visit of the Polish prime minister to Russia at the beginning of 2008," a source with the Russian delegation said.
Lavrov also invited Sikorski and deputy Polish prime minister, Waldemar Pawlak, to visit Russia soon.
Russia's ban on Polish meat exports and Warsaw's decision to allow the U.S. to deploy a missile interceptor base in Poland have proved major sources of tension between the countries in the last two years.
In retaliation for Russia's meat ban, Poland vetoed talks on a new Russia-EU partnership and cooperation agreement.
Center-right politician Donald Tusk's victory in Polish parliamentary elections prompted hopes that Warsaw would take a more accommodating stance on disputes with Russia, including on the meat issue.
Tusk told parliament in his inaugural speech in November that relations with Russia must be improved, and that Moscow had shown its willingness to engage in dialogue.
