Ukraine's Yanukovych gears up for talks in Moscow | Top Russian news and analysis online | 'RIA Novosti' newswire: “Ukraine’s new president, Viktor Yanukovych, flies to Russia on Friday to improve ties between the two states damaged under his pro-Western predecessor and soured by a series of disagreements ranging from gas transit to Europe to the future of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet base in the Crimean peninsula.
The task is likely to prove tough for Yanukovych, whose narrow victory in last month’s presidential election only served to emphasize the split between Western-leaning nationalist western parts of the country and mainly Russian-speaking eastern regions, where the population favors maintaining strong historical ties with Moscow.”