Medvedev: Football can help Russia and Ukraine forge closer ties

Football has the power to forge closer ties between Russia and Ukraine, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday. Medvedev said the two neighbors, enjoying cozier relations since pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych came to power last year, should take advantage of a recent convergence in sporting spheres. Russia’s national team earlier this month secured a place in the finals of the Euro 2012 football championships in Ukraine and Poland, and the country has clubs battling against Ukrainian teams in the UEFA Champions League. “We are really counting on the fact that all the football events will enable our states to become closer,” Medvedev said at the second annual Russian-Ukrainian interregional economic forum in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk. “Of course, we are preparing for the European championships, and tomorrow we have a very interesting match between Zenit and Shakhtar,” he said of Wednesday’s Champions League clash in Donetsk between Zenit St. Petersburg and local team Shaktar. “I would like to wish our teams – in the broadest sense of the word, not only football teams – stability and luck. Only in this case can there be success,” he said. Russian-Ukrainian relations have improved considerably since the five-year term of pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko ended last year, though the ties are still tested by quarrels over the shipment of Russian gas via Ukraine to the rest of Europe. Medvedev, 46, is a noted football fan and supporter of Zenit St. Petersburg, his hometown team.