KIEV, Aug. 14 - President Viktor Yushchenko's response to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's Aug. 11 address is formal and evades the existing problems in relations between the two countries, said Mykola Azarov, a Ukrainian parliamentarian and a member of the political council of the major opposition Regions party.

"Unfortunately, our chief of state did not say anything new and constructive. This once again confirms that [Party of Regions leader] Viktor Yanukovych was right when he said that, without changing the incumbent government, it is impossible to build normal neighborly relations with Russia," Azarov's press service quoted him as saying in a statement on Friday.