MOSCOW, February 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is encouraged by Poland's willingness to improve bilateral relations, and aims to find constructive solutions to problems between the countries, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

Previously frosty ties between the former Eastern Bloc neighbors have taken a turn for the better since center-right Prime Minister Donald Tusk took office in Poland late last year. Russia has since lifted its two-year embargo on Polish meat, and the sides have launched joint consultations on controversial U.S. missile shield plans for Poland.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mikhail Kamynin told RIA Novosti in an interview: "The Russian side always aimed to support normal and good-neighborly relations with Poland, without dramatizing existing disagreements, seeking constructive solutions to issues."

Moscow welcomes "Warsaw's mutual willingness in this direction, as declared by Donald Tusk's government."

"We expect Russian-Polish relations to gain a strong impetus based on pragmatism, mutual benefit, and respect," he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold host a meeting with the Polish premier in Moscow on Friday.

The spokesman said he was pleased that political dialogue had been invigorated by a meeting between the countries' foreign ministers in Brussels last December and a visit by Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski to Moscow in late January.

On prospects for trade, economic and humanitarian cooperation, the official said Poland would remain a leading trade partner among central and east European countries, but called for bilateral investment incentives to be improved.