Ankara, June 7, SPA -- Ukrainian President ViktorYushchenko was welcomed to Ankara with cannon fire and amilitary band Tuesday as he began a three-day visit toTurkey to boost political and economic ties between the twoBlack Sea countries. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Yushchenko brieflyon Monday night. Yushchenko is scheduled to meet with President AhmetNecdet Sezer and speaker of the parliament Bulent Arinclater on Tuesday. At the top of the agenda are energy ties, joint investmentprojects, communications, Black Sea fishing rights andnuclear cooperation. Turkey is Ukraine's fifth-largesttrading partner and third largest export market. The twocountries have trade ties of around U$2 billion. Yushchenko, who came to power in a pro-western "OrangeRevolution" in December, has vowed to lead Ukraine in amore free market direction. The Ukrainian president will travel to Istanbul to meetwith Turkish businessmen on Wednesday, The Associated Press reported. --SPA1240 Local Time 0940 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/268024