KIEV, November 4 (RIA Novosti) - Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi arrived in Kiev on Tuesday for talks with President Viktor Yushchenko and top government officials.
Qaddafi's three-day state visit is his first since Ukraine gained its independence from the Soviet Union, and comes as the third leg of a Slavic tour that started in Moscow and continued in Minsk. He was invited to Ukraine when Yushchenko visited Libya in April.
The two leaders were due to hold private talks after reviewing an honor-guard to mark the start of the visit.
Qaddafi is also expected to meet with government and parliamentary leaders.
In Moscow, Qaddafi met with President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, while in Minsk he invited President Alexander Lukashenko to return to Libya, eight years after the Belarusian head of state's last visit.
