KIEV, February 23 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev congratulated his Ukrainian counterpart, Viktor Yushchenko, wishing him good health on his 55th birthday on Monday, the Ukrainian president's press office said.

"Russia wants to see Ukraine a stable, democratic and prosperous country with which we are ready to develop cooperation on a mutually beneficial basis," the press service quoted Medvedev as saying in his telegram, which wished all Ukrainians peace and wellbeing.

Relations between the two former Soviet neighbors have been strained by energy disputes, Yushchenko's drive to join NATO and what many politicians in Russia have described as nationalistic domestic policies.

Russia cut off natural gas supplies to Ukraine for more than two weeks last month over a debt and pricing dispute.

This year, Yushchenko is celebrating his birthday with his family at his residence in western Ukraine.