Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Ukraine for an official visit today, as energy officials from the two former Soviet republics signed a natural gas deal, dpa reported. The Russian prime minister flew to the Ukrainian Black Sea resort city Yalta for two days of official meetings, including scheduled one-on-one talks with Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. An energy agreement pushed by Putin and Tymoshenko was made public on Thursday as well, with officials from Ukraine"s natural gas monopoly Naftohaz Ukrainy announcing the signing of a contract with the Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom setting out specific volumes of fuel to be shipped through Ukraine to European consumers in 2010. Planned volumes were practically unchanged from 2009, according to a Naftohaz Ukrainy statement. The late 2008 absence of a signed delivery contract between Russia and Ukraine sparked a five-day Russian blockade of all natural gas shipments into Ukraine"s pipeline network, spiking January retail natural gas prices as far away as Spain. Talks in the Tsarist-era Livadia Palace between Russian and Ukrainian delegations on Thursday and Friday would focus on scientific and technological exchange, the Interfax news agency reported. Other planned discussion topics included cooperative measures in controlling a regional flu outbreak, and reducing the effect of the international financial crisis.
