Russian Ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov...

"Dear Mr. President, let me pay my highest respect to you and to the Ukrainian people, and wish you every success as president of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people a good life," Zurabov said in Ukrainian during the ceremony.

The decree to appoint Zurabov - a former health and social development minister - was signed on August 5, 2009. But on August 11, President Dmitry Medvedev sent an open letter to his Ukrainian counterpart, Viktor Yushchenko, saying the dispatch of the new ambassador was being withheld due to the unfriendly nature of Ukraine"s policy towards Russia.

Medvedev ordered Zurabov to formally assume his position in Kiev following Yushchenko"s resounding defeat in the first round of presidential elections in Ukraine on January 17.

Ties between the two former Soviet neighbors were strained under Yushchenko over a host of issues, including gas pricing disputes, the pro-Western leader"s drive to secure NATO and EU membership for Ukraine, and Kiev"s support

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