INTERESTS NEED A BALANCE
Though both sides described it as fruitful, Yanukovych's visit did not touch on the thorny issues that had cropped up under Yushchenko. Those include Ukraine's recognition of the independence of Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and gas prices.
Yevgeny Minchenko, a Russian political commentator, warned against placing high expectation on the trip, as the new Ukrainian president had not secured a firm grip on state power.
He noted that Yanukovych's party had not won parliamentary majority, and a government loyal to him had not yet been put in place. He said the two former Soviet neighbors were unlikely to clinch major economic agreements apart from exchanging views on certain disputes.
Yanukovych was to attend an unofficial meeting of heads of state from members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Moscow. It remains to be seen how Ukraine will cooperate with other states within the framework of the CIS.
Yanukovych would be keen to defend Ukraine's interests while pursuing a "normal, sound, decent and right" relationship with Russia, said Maxim Grigoriev, director of Democracy Problems Research Foundation.
"They will take action as long as a move is beneficial to them. Otherwise, negotiations with Kiev would be extremely hard," Grigoriev said.
Besides, he said that Yanukovych would have to strike a balance between his country's Russian-speaking east, also his major power base, and the Ukrainian-speaking west. Therefore, it is unlikely that Yankovych will adopt a foreign policy that sides entirely with Russia, Grigoriev added.
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