KIEV, Feb. 13 - The talks between Ukraine and Turkmenistan in Ashgabat are an important step towards strengthening the friendship and partnership between the two countries, and the significant intensification of the political dialog at all levels confirms the mutual interests of the two countries in expanding areas of cooperation, President Viktor Yanukovych told journalists in Ashgabat on Wednesday after talks with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

Yanukovych said that during the talks the sides noted the two countries' shared views on the further development of international relations in the world and Central Asia, and the deepening of Ukrainian-Turkmen cooperation in various fields. In particular, the issue concerns cooperation in the financial, energy, military, technical, humanitarian and interregional spheres and the participation of Ukrainian companies in the implementation of large-scale projects on industrial and social construction in Turkmenistan.

Yanukovych said that the Ukrainian-Turkmen intergovernmental commission on economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation would play an important role in developing trade and economic cooperation between Ukraine and Turkmenistan.