Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Ukrainian...
"Just next week we plan an unscheduled meeting... with President Yanukovych on the territory of Ukraine," Medvedev said.
Respected Russian daily Kommersant said, quoting a source close to the visit preparations, that the date of Medvedev"s trip had been brought forward as Ukraine needs to draw a budget which depends on the prices for the Russian gas.
Medvedev told journalists in Brazil after the BRIC summit that Ukraine considered gas prices too high for the current situation in the country, and that Russia was willing to compromise.
"This is not a closed topic, I have told Ukrainian president from the very beginning that we are ready to do it," Medvedev said.
Yanukovych, who was inaugurated in February, vowed during his campaign to improve relations with Russia and renegotiate the January 2009 deal on gas supplies, which increased the price Ukraine paid for Russian gas, straining the country"s troubled finances.