Moscow - Kiev reliable bilateral relations

Moscow - Kiev reliable bilateral relations
2010-03-05 17:50:40 - Ukrainian President Yanukovych talks of balanced policy towards Russia,his power base is in the mainly Russian-speaking eastern and southern industrial parts of the country, has pledged to take steps to assure the right of Ukrainians to speak Russian, something his predecessor had suppressed.

Yanukovych was the Governor of Donetsk Oblast from 1997 to 2002. He was Prime Minister of Ukraine from November 21, 2002 to December 31, 2004, under President Leonid Kuchma.He was an unsuccessful candidate in the controversial 2004 presidential election, losing to Viktor Yushchenko. Yanukovych continued to lead his party, the Party of Regions, after the 2004 election, and he served
as Prime Minister for a second time from August 4, 2006 to December 18, 2007 under President Yushchenko. On March 3, 2010, Yanukovych transferred the authorities of leading the party to Mykola Azarov.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his new Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovych met in Moscow to discuss bilateral relations following Yanukovych's victory in the Ukrainian presidential elections."In recent years, relations between our countries have not been just stagnated, they have degraded," Medvedev said during a news conference after the meeting."We are talking about the reviving of these relations through drastic and effective means," he said.Medvedev said a Russian-Ukrainian interstate commission would be established in the near future to boost ties.

The Ukrainian and Russian governments will also hold talks on energy cooperation, including in the gas sphere, he added.Yanukovych said that new government would change its relations with Russia,ties between the two countries should never have reached such a low ebb."I understand the electorates and was observing the situation not just as a politician, but as a common Ukrainian citizen, and for me it was unpleasant, and we never fathomed that our relations would be like that," Yanukovych said.

"Relations with Russia and the CIS will be a priority for us. Our countries are closely tied by economy, history and culture," Viktor Yanukovych.Relations between Moscow and Kiev deteriorated during former Viktor Yushchenko's presidency over his West-leaning policies.Media agencies