By Conor Sweeney
Ukraine's new president, Viktor Yanukovich, arrived in Moscow on Friday for his first visit since winning the election on a pledge to improve ties with the Kremlin after years of acrimony under his pro-Western predecessor.
But economic issues, such as cash-strapped Ukraine's bills for Russian natural gas, are expected to dominate his meetings with both Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and the country's most powerful politician, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Political ties soured under Yanukovich's pro-Western predecessor, Viktor Yushchenko, who came to power after the Orange Revolution and sought to take his country towards membership of the both the European Union and Nato.
Yanukovich, inaugurated last week, comes to Russia days after his first foreign trip as head of state, to Brussels, where he pledged to keep Ukraine on the reform path and ensure it remains a reliable gas transit route.
Moscow has not given any indication it regarded Yanukovich's decision to travel first to Brussels as a snub or a signal of his future priorities.
Europe, which gets a fifth of its gas needs from Russia via Ukraine, is hoping Yanukovich's more pro-Russian stance can guarantee he will avoid repeating the price disputes which led to supply cuts to Europe in recent years.
But many analysts believe Kiev's desperate public finances mean Yanukovich must change a long-term gas deal signed in 2009 by his election rival, former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, which made Russian gas more expensive for Ukraine than for most European countries.
The Kremlin on Thursday said Ukraine should not seek to reopen the terms of gas contracts.
But Russian business daily Kommersant reported on Friday that Ukraine will offer to give Moscow a one-third stake in the future management of its gas pipeline network, in exchange for deep cuts in the price of imported Russian gas.
Yanukovich has pleased Russia by making clear he opposes Ukraine joining Nato, saying Kiev would continue only partnership programmes with the Western military alliance.
But analysts have said Yanukovich would have to offer Moscow bigger incentives - such as a deal for the Russian Black Sea Fleet to stay in Ukraine's port of Sevastopol beyond the official withdrawal deadline of 2017 - to win lower gas prices.
Yanukovich has said he could allow the fleet to stay, a move Moscow sees as a certain guarantee that Kiev will not join Nato.
He may also seek to convince Russia not to proceed with either Nord Stream or South Stream, pipelines that would bypass Ukraine in delivering gas to Europe via the Baltic and Black Seas, drastically cutting Kiev's transit revenues. - Reuters