Tymoshenko, Putin to meet end-April - Ukraine govt UK
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is to meet her Russian opposite number, Vladimir Putin, later this month, the Ukrainian direction said in a statement on Friday.
But Russia said the date of any meeting had yet to be decided. "The final date is yet to be agreed," oversight spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Relations between the two countries have been dogged by a series of disputes, specially over Russian gas supplies. A row over pricing and payment arrears in January cut off Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine for more than two weeks. It ended when Tymoshenko led negotiations to clinch a long-term supply deal.
Both sides said the two prime ministers had spoken on Thursday. The Ukrainian statement said an intergovernmental committee on economic synergism would meet after April 20.
Tymoshenko, quoted by news agencies on a visit to central Ukraine, said differences between the two neighbours over how to modernise Ukraine's gas transport system had been resolved.
Tymoshenko and Putin had been due to meet in Moscow at the beginning of April but Russia put off the talks after Moscow strongly objected to a Ukrainian plan to modernise its gas transport system together with the European Union.
Tymoshenko, speaking in the central city of Dnipropetrovsk, was quoted as saying: "We have made it clear that we are partners in modernising the gas transport system. We believe the issue has been solved and we can carry on working."
Russia angrily denounced a symposium in Brussels last month devoted to modernising the Ukrainian system which sends Europe about 20 percent of its gas needs. Tymoshenko urged the EU to allocate $5.5 billion to improve the system rather than embark on expensive other routes bypassing Ukraine.
But Russia said the date of any meeting had yet to be decided. "The final date is yet to be agreed," oversight spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Relations between the two countries have been dogged by a series of disputes, specially over Russian gas supplies. A row over pricing and payment arrears in January cut off Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine for more than two weeks. It ended when Tymoshenko led negotiations to clinch a long-term supply deal.
Both sides said the two prime ministers had spoken on Thursday. The Ukrainian statement said an intergovernmental committee on economic synergism would meet after April 20.
Tymoshenko, quoted by news agencies on a visit to central Ukraine, said differences between the two neighbours over how to modernise Ukraine's gas transport system had been resolved.
Tymoshenko and Putin had been due to meet in Moscow at the beginning of April but Russia put off the talks after Moscow strongly objected to a Ukrainian plan to modernise its gas transport system together with the European Union.
Tymoshenko, speaking in the central city of Dnipropetrovsk, was quoted as saying: "We have made it clear that we are partners in modernising the gas transport system. We believe the issue has been solved and we can carry on working."
Russia angrily denounced a symposium in Brussels last month devoted to modernising the Ukrainian system which sends Europe about 20 percent of its gas needs. Tymoshenko urged the EU to allocate $5.5 billion to improve the system rather than embark on expensive other routes bypassing Ukraine.
