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| Russia and Ukraine leaders seek partnership treaty | Russia and Ukraine leaders seek partnership treaty |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have held surprise talks on a "strategic partnership treaty". | |
| Mr Yanukovych flew from China to Sochi in southern Russia for the meeting. He has also cancelled a visit to Malta. | |
| Last month he shelved a partnership deal with the EU, triggering angry protests in Ukraine's capital Kiev. | Last month he shelved a partnership deal with the EU, triggering angry protests in Ukraine's capital Kiev. |
| In Sochi he discussed "preparation of a future treaty on strategic partnership" with Russia, his press service said. | In Sochi he discussed "preparation of a future treaty on strategic partnership" with Russia, his press service said. |
| The talks covered various economic issues, the statement said, without elaborating. | |
| Thousands of anti-Yanukovych protesters remain outside the government building on Kiev's Independence Square, braving bitter cold. | |
| They are furious that he made an 11th-hour U-turn in relations with the EU, refusing to sign an association agreement that had been prepared during years of negotiations. | |
| Mr Putin has been urging Ukraine to join Russia's customs union with Belarus and Kazakhstan - a union whose entry terms are far less demanding than the EU's. | |
| In recent months Russia has put Ukraine under economic pressure, imposing long customs delays at the border and banning imports of Ukrainian sweets. |