Russia will buy Ukrainian debt and slash the price Kiev pays for its gas , President Vladimir Putin says , throwing an economic lifeline to its neighbor , rattled by protests calling for closer economic ties with Europe instead . Amid a backdrop of continuous demonstrations in Kiev , Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych met Putin in Moscow on Tuesday , where the deal was announced . There , he said they agreed on a joint economic plan of action , covering areas such as industry , agriculture , defense , construction and transport . `` We need to continue our joint work of our governments , our working groups , '' Yanukovych said in a televised news conference . Under the deal , Putin said Moscow would buy $ 15 billion in Ukrainian debt by investing in its national welfare fund . The cost of Russian gas supplied to Ukraine was cut from more than $ 400 per 1,000 cubic meters to $ 268.50 . The deal may inflame the tens of thousands of protesters , who have poured into the streets of the Ukrainian capital for weeks , angry at Yanukovych for spurning a trade deal with the European Union last month and turning to Moscow for help . `` He ( Yanukovych ) did not communicate with us , so how can he sign documents on our behalf ? '' one protester occupying the central Independence Square , or Maidan , told CNN before the deal was announced . Despite the sub-zero temperatures , the demonstrators opposed to closer ties with Russia have stood their ground , setting up tents and barricades , paralyzing the city center . They were out in the tens of thousands Sunday -- the fourth weekend in a row -- urging their leaders to mend ties with Europe . Boosting trade . The agreements are intended to reverse a decline in trade between the two nations over the past two years , the leaders said , adding that the planned cooperation would be `` mutually beneficial '' to both economies . Yanukovych said the focus was on `` economic areas , which is basis of our working together in a bilateral way . '' `` We are ready to look at the possibility of rapprochement in economic and political spheres , '' Putin said . Ahead of Tuesday 's talks , Prime Minister Mykola Azarov rejected claims that Ukraine was leaning toward joining Russia and two other former Soviet republics , Belarus and Kazakhstan , in a Customs Union . `` These are speculations . None of the papers we have prepared are in any way related to the Customs Union , '' he said . Ukraine , Russia to sign trade road map , Prime Minister Mykola Azarov says . Economic issues . EU foreign ministers held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday in Brussels , Belgium . EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Moscow should not fear `` a detrimental effect on Russia '' as a result of Ukraine 's signature of the EU deal . `` I do n't believe that the crisis in Ukraine should have a negative impact on our relations with Russia . It does mean , though , that we have to look very seriously about the way in which countries make their decision and are entitled to make their decision , '' she said . Ahead of the talks , Ashton told reporters she believed the bloc could work with Yanukovych on Kiev 's concerns , voiced since the Eastern European country backpedaled on signing the Association Agreement . `` We are very concerned when we look at some of the things that are being said , and my purpose in talking to President Yanukovych was to discover what these short-term economic issues are that have prevented him from signing , '' Ashton said . `` I feel that we can work with him to resolve those . Some of them can be done through the support of the European Union , others through financial institutions , some of them through the private sector . All of them are possible . '' Stefan Fule , European commissioner for enlargement and European neighborhood policy , said a day earlier on Twitter that efforts were being halted amid growing doubts that any deal could be done with Kiev . Ukraine , a key transit region for Russian gas going to Western Europe , has desperately needed a cash injection . Azarov last week told a government meeting that Ukraine was still open to signing the European integration deal , if the European Union would agree to provide financial assistance to Ukraine of around 20 billion euros ( $ 27.5 billion ) . Future ties . Some in Europe have accused Moscow of using strong-arm tactics to try to influence Ukraine 's course , but Russia denies that charge . The tumult in Ukraine goes to the heart of its future ties with Russia and the rest of Europe . Ukraine is split between pro-European regions in the west and a more Russia-oriented east . The protests have unfolded since November 21 , when Yanukovych changed his stance on the EU trade pact , which had been years in the making . The demonstrators say an EU agreement would open borders to trade and set the stage for modernization and inclusion .
Putin says Russia to buy Ukrainian debt , cut price its neighbor pays for its gas . Viktor Yanukovych says Ukraine and Russia will deepen their strategic cooperation . Yanukovych and Putin meet as protesters rally in Ukraine against closer ties with Russia . Yanukovych angered many in Ukraine by backpedaling on signing an EU trade deal .