KIEV, Feb. 18 – Ukraine is seeking to increase its involvement with the Commonwealth of Independent States, a Russia-led loose alliance, and has been making progress in talks over free trade, President Viktor Yanukovych said Friday.

The comment comes after Yanukovych’s meeting with Sergei Lebedev, the executive secretary of the CIS, and amid problems and delays reported in talks over free trade with the European Union.

“Ukraine’s intention is to considerably increase its involvement in the Commonwealth,” Yanukovych said in a statement posted on the presidential Website. “We have proposals how to boost trade and economic cooperation, and we are holding bilateral contacts with our Commonwealth colleagues.”

The plans to step up cooperation within the CIS is a sharp reversal of Ukraine’s foreign policy of Yanukovych’s predecessor, Viktor Yushchenko, who sought to cut the country’s involvement with the alliance.

Ukraine will host a meeting of CIS foreign ministers in Kiev on April 8, and will also host a major CIS economic meeting in Yalta on April 15.

Yushchenko has repeatedly criticized CIS for ineffectiveness as Russia has been refusing to open up its market for some goods and commodities from Ukraine and other alliance members.

Under Yushchenko, Ukraine recalled a number of its official representatives at some of CIS administrative bodies, but they have been returned after Yanukovych has won the presidency in February 2010.

“Ukraine has turned around towards the cooperation with CIS countries,” Lebedev told Kommersant daily. “But at the same time, I would want it to be more actively involved. There is a potential for that.”

As a potential breakthrough, Ukraine and the CIS have been coming close to signing a free trade agreement that would reduce the number of goods still restricted from the free trade to two from 37.

The agreement is expected to be ready in March and will be reviewed at the Yalta meeting on April 15, after which it may be signed at a summit in Minsk on May 20.

“The Ukrainian team is working very hard on this agreement,” Lebedev said. “We hope very much that Kiev will sign this agreement.”

The apparent progress in the talks comes amid delays in similar talks with the European Union, whose officials have been criticizing Yanukovych’s government for restricting democracy and freedom of speech.

The free trade agreement with the EU was originally expected to be signed in November 2010, but had been delayed and even optimists say the earliest it can be signed is the end of 2011.

Yanukovych recently appointed First Deputy Prime Minister Andriy Kliuyev to lead the talks holding the talks with the EU, and asked him to intensify the talks.

Concerned with the delays, he also asked Kliuyev to come up with ideas on changing tactics in the talks with the EU, and to submit a “compromise package,” which includes possible trade concessions, for review by February 24. (tl/ez)