Ukraine's leading English-language newspaper since 1995

Regions Party leader Victor Yanukovych has said that Ukraine and the European Union should have a new format of a dialog on the issue of collective security.

"Security is, first and foremost, mutual trust based on mutual principles. We have to formulate them in time and offer them to our European colleagues," he said at a United Russia party congress in St. Petersburg on Saturday.

Yanukovych said that Europe expects open and friendly relations from Ukraine and Russia, "as they [Europeans] are already tired of gas wars and senseless diplomatic squabbles."

"We'll turn this page in 2010 and start a new dialog in the Ukraine-Russia-European Union format," he said.

Yanukovych said that Ukraine and Russia should hammer out their joint position in the issue of European collective security system.