Yanukovych and Medvedev will take a number of joint decisions during Medvedev's visit to Kyiv in the first half of 2010. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has said he hopes that he and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev will take a number of joint decisions during Medvedev's visit to Kyiv in the first half of 2010.

He said this at a meeting with the Cabinet of Ministers in Kyiv on March 12.

Yanukovych ordered Fuel and Energy Minister Yuriy Boiko to start holding talks on gas and electricity issues as part of preparations for a joint meeting of the Ukrainian-Russian interstate commission.

"I'm asking you to launch talks, first and foremost, on gas issues, as well as on electricity and nuclear energy, as part of preparations for the first joint meeting of the Ukrainian-Russian interstate commission," he said, addressing the minister.

Yanukovych said that the necessary work should be conducted "to take joint decisions during Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's official visit [to Kyiv] in the first half of this year."