The two leaders, whose relations were strained by the Orange Revolution but have recently warmed, will also discuss Ukraine's push to join NATO.
Despite the improved ties, the meeting is unlikely to produce any concrete deals because of the standoff between the Western-leaning Yushchenko and his pro-Russian prime minister, Viktor Yanukovych, experts said.
"There are many unsettled issues between us and Russia. We must improve the status of relations and form a mechanism to allow for daily cooperation," Yushchenko was reported by Izvestia to as saying earlier this week.
Yushchenko expressed hope that during the upcoming meeting, Russia and Ukraine would be able to hammer out a plan for improving relations between the two countries and with Europe, Izvestia reported.
Friday's visit is Putin's second since Yushchenko came to power amid the turmoil of late 2004, sparked by rigged presidential election results in the second round of voting.
During the Orange Revolution, Russia backed Yanukovych in the presidential election; Western officials threw their support behind Yushchenko. Yanukovych lost to Yushchenko in a replay of the second round of voting.
Yushchenko's victory appeared to mark a low point in Russian-Ukrainian relations. But a dispute over Russia's supply of gas to Ukraine in early 2005, after Yushchenko took office, led to even tenser relations. The dispute prompted Gazprom to cut off supplies to Ukraine briefly, disturbing the flow of gas to Western Europe and raising fears about Russia's use of energy supplies to pursue foreign policy interests.
Earlier this year, Yanukovych's party captured the most seats in Ukraine's parliament; after months of talks among Yushchenko's fragile Orange coalition, Yanukovych emerged as prime minister.
Disagreements about what Ukraine should pay for its gas persist.
Hevhen Hrebeniuk, a political analyst at the Kiev-based Millennium Capital investment bank, said any energy-related discussion would be closely watched. "It is really important for Ukraine to get a guarantee that Russia will not use energy resources as a political lever," Hrebeniuk said.
Hrebeniuk and Valery Khomyakov, general director of the Moscow-based Council on National Strategy, agreed that the visit was unlikely to produce any breakthroughs.
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