The first foreign visit of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to Brussels and Moscow ended in declarations of intent. In the capital of the EU these declarations were verbal, while in Moscow Yanukovych and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a joint presidential declaration assuring one another of their intent to build a relationship "on an equal and mutually beneficial basis in the spirit of friendship, a good neighbor policy and strategic partnership."

"Yanukovych could not raise any specific issues. He will raise them no sooner than the government will be under the control of the president,” MP Taras Chornovil believes. Nonetheless, the official visit produced results. Moscow outlined a number of issues that it is first and foremost concerned about, specifically Russia´s participation in the modernization of Ukraine’s gas transport grid, the demarcation of borders and the fate of the Russian Black Sea Fleet after 2017.

On all these issues Yanukovych refused to give specific answers, saying they can be discussed during the reciprocal visit of Medvedev to Ukraine this year. The only concrete result of the visit of the Ukrainian president to Moscow is his promise to cancel the decrees on conferring Roman Shukhevych and Stepan Bandera the title of Hero of Ukraine by May 9. In Chornovil’s opinion, this is enough to gain an understanding of the real vector of Ukraine’s foreign policy for the next 5 years.