Kiev/Moscow, March 05, 2010, SPA -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev andUkrainian President Viktor Yanukovych met in the Kremlin today todiscuss energy issues and the status of the Black Sea Fleet, dpa reported. It was Yanukovych's first official visit to Russia, and secondtrip abroad, since his inauguration as Ukraine's President onFebruary 21. Medvedev, at a post-meeting press conference said he andYanukovych "had agreed to continue talks" between the two countrieson the status of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, which is based in theUkrainian port city Sevastopol. Yanukovych at the same press conference predicted Kiev and Moscowwould agree to extend a Russia's lease on naval basing rights inSevastopol, scheduled to run out in 2017. "I think that very soon we will receive a resolution (to talks onthe naval basing treaty) that will suit both Ukraine and Russia,"Yanukovych said. "There are a great number of particulars, this iswhat has (still) to be decided." Former Ukraine president Viktor Yushchenko, Yanukovych'spredecessor, had called for Russia's military to leave Ukraine'sCrimea peninsula as soon as the Kremlin's naval basing lease ran out. Yanukovych, a pro-Russia politician, has said Ukraine shouldcontinue to offer Russia a naval basing lease, provided the price wasright. Medvedev, at the same post-talks press conference signaled a shiftin Russian media policy towards Ukraine, saying the Kremlin would -as had not in the past - allow Ukrainian-language televisionprogramming to reach viewers via Russia's state-run media. "I will speak with the managers of our media," Medvedev said atthe press conference. "There will be transmissions across the entirecountry." Yanukovych, in remarks prior to the meetings with Medvedev, said"introducing a sharp turn to the better in relations between Russiaand Ukraine," was the main goal of his visit. A politician closely linked to oligarchs running Ukraine's energy-intensive steel and chemical industries, Yanukovych during hiselection campaign said Kiev should renegotiate a natural gas tradecontract with Moscow to reduce the current price paid by Ukraine forRussian gas: 305 dollars per 1,000 cubic metres. The Yanukovych delegation was likely to propose Russia cut theprice by some 50 per cent, according to a Kommersant magazine report. A dispute between Kiev and Moscow on natural gas pricing brokeended in a three-week Russian blockade of exports to Ukraine,sparking downstream shortages as far away as Spain.--SPA 18:45 LOCAL TIME 15:45 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/755091