26 September 2011
Talks on Saturday between President Viktor Yanukovych and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev resulted in “significant progress”, Yanukovych’s website reported on the weekend. Yanukovych’s website indicated the issues would be followed up on at an intergovernmental commission meeting in October. Brad Wells: We assess the tone of the announcements from both camps as positive for Russia-Ukraine relations, which appeared to have been strained recently due to Ukraine’s repeated requests for a discount on imported gas. The lack of concrete details or potential plans from either side is not very surprising considering the difficult negotiation positions going in and most likely indicates a deal is being worked out behind-the-scenes.