Nikolay Azarov, Viktor Yanukovich and Vladimir Litvin

From the left to right: prime minister of Ukraine Nikolay Azarov, Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada Chairman Vladimir Litvin and President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovich during expanded meeting of the Council of Regions, in Kiev, on Monday, December 13, 2010. In his speech at the event President of Ukraine said: "We have undertaken an important task – to modernize the country, make it competitive and dynamic. The Program of Reforms for 2010 - 2014, ‘Prosperous society, competitive economy, effective government’ gives clear answers on how to perform this task. Opponents have criticized us and will be criticizing us at every step. And it is a quite usual situation for us as a democratic country. But I would say that it is very important that we all understood the attitude of people and civil society to us and their response to our every step. The task for us all is to raise the confidence of people in this area. This means consolidating the state around the reforms we are to discuss today. It is the most important thing. Changes in the state are gaining momentum. Step by step we move from the initial groundwork and reform projects to practical solutions and new results. Hopefully, they will be of good quality. Each new step requires greater coordination and great responsibility for our actions. Photo by Anastasia Sirotkina / POOL / UNIAN