You're reading: Stratfor: Yanukovych under pressure at home and abroad

The Aug. 11 talks on natural gas pricing between Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev in Russia come at a difficult time for the Ukrainian leader. A controversial arrest and prosecution of a political rival of Yanukovich has made Western groups like the European Union, which Ukraine had been courting for inclusion, less receptive to Kyiv’s efforts. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich will visit Sochi, Russia, on Aug. 11 for a meeting with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev. The main topic on the agenda will be the ongoing natural gas pricing negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow, which have been a cause of bilateral tensions in the past. This meeting comes at a crucial time for Yanukovich. The Ukrainian president is under increasing domestic pressure as a result of the trial and arrest of opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko for an alleged abuse of power during her time in office. Read full story here.