Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have met in Sochi (Russia).

"The presidents discussed trade and economic cooperation in various spheres of economy and the drawing up of a future strategic partnership agreement," the press service of the Ukrainian president said in a statement released on Friday.

Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said: "The president of Ukraine made a stopover in Sochi on his way home from China. During a brief working visit, they discussed current aspects of Russian-Ukrainian bilateral relations and issues related to preparations for a Russian-Ukrainian interstate commission session in Moscow."

Earlier on Friday, zn.ua reported that Ukraine was allegedly negotiating with Russia on obtaining a loan of at least $12 billion, as well as possible signature of a new contract between Gazprom and Ukrainian private companies on the supply of 10 billion cubic meters of gas at a price of $210-230 from January 1, 2014.

In particular, zn.ua mentioned companies owned by Dmytro Firtash, Serhiy Kurchenko, and Ihor Bakay, although there is no official confirmation of this information.