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Ukraine President Yanukovych in Moscow for energy talks
Mar 5, 2010, 12:48 GMT
Kiev/Moscow - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was in the Kremlin on Friday for talks with Russia's leadership on energy.
It was Yanukovych's first official visit to Russia, and second trip abroad, since his inauguration as Ukraine's President on February 21.
Yanukovych in televised remarks prior to a meeting with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev said 'introducting a sharp turn to the better in relations between Russia and Ukraine,' was the main goal of his visit.
A politician closely linked to oligarchs running Ukraine's energy-intensive steel and chemical industries, Yanukovych during his election campaign called for a Kiev to renegotiate a natural gas trade contract with Moscow, saying the current price paid by Ukraine for Russian gas - 305 dollars per 1,000 cubic metres, was too high.
The Yanukovych delegation was likely to propose Russia cut the price by some 50 per cent, according to a Kommersant magazine report.
A dispute between Kiev and Moscow on natural gas pricing broke ended in a three-week Russian blockade of exports to Ukraine, sparking downstream shortages as far away as Spain.
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