KIEV (Xinhua)-- Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko called for improving Ukrainian-Russian relations in an interview with the Correspondent Weekly issued on Saturday.

The two countries should build their relations ""on the basis of understanding their mutual national interests,"" Tymoshenko said in the interview.
""I think Russia and Ukraine should switch from mutual and reciprocal accusations and a kind of permanent duel to a very substantive dialogue on all problematic issues existing in our relations. I think Russia is starting to treat Ukraine as a sovereign power today,"" she stressed.
""Ukrainian-Russian relations should be built on a reliable foundation of mutual interests. I, as the head of government, will seek to build this very kind of foundation,"" Tymoshenko said.
Tymoshenko is scheduled to visit Moscow on Feb. 21-22. It is the first time for her to visit Russia as Ukraine's new prime minister since she took office last December.
--Russia reiterates concern over Ukraine's bid for NATO membership
Russia is concerned over Ukraine's bid to join NATO which may seriously harm the former Soviet republic's relations with Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Saturday.
""The desire to accelerate (Ukraine's) accession to this military-political bloc, expressed by the Ukrainian leadership, will entail serious consequences for the development of Russian-Ukrainian relations and will harm European security in general,"" the ministry said.
The statement was issued one day after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin held talks with Ukrainian Ambassador to Russia Oleh Dyomin on prospects of Russian-Ukrainian relations in light of Ukraine's future entry into NATO.
Last week, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko formally requested NATO to admit Ukraine to its Membership Action Plan, which is a necessary step on the path to eventual full membership the RIA Novosti news agency reported.
Tymoshenko stated earlier that Ukraine would make its decision on whether to accept NATO's future membership offer after holding a national referendum on the issue.
A recent poll carried out by Ukraine's Democratic Initiatives foundation showed that over 50 percent of Ukrainians would vote against joining NATO.
In the survey, 51.9 percent of respondents said they viewed NATO as an ""aggressive imperialist bloc that would draw Ukraine into military conflicts.""