Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov postponed his visit to Kyiv, which was supposed to take place on November 23, indefinitely. This was announced by the head of the Ministry of Industry and Energy Viktor Khristenko, the Rossiya TV channel reports.

According to him, the cancellation of the visit “is due to the fact that it has not yet been possible to reach specific agreements on forms of interaction in the gas industry.” According to Khristenko, “we have an understanding, but it is not reflected in specific contracts or agreements.”

“Unsettled contracts for next year are risks for gas supplies not only to Ukraine, but also to Europe,” Khristenko noted. “We are sure that not only Russia, but also Ukraine does not want this.”

Despite the adoption of such a decision, today a telephone conversation took place between Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov and Prime Minister of Ukraine Yuri Yekhanurov, reports the Department of Information and Press of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

During the conversation, the main attention was paid to the need to complete agreement on the supply of natural gas to Ukraine and the transit of Russian gas through the territory of Ukraine in 2006.

An agreement was reached to intensify negotiations between the relevant departments on this issue. M. Fradkov and Yu. Yekhanurov agreed to determine the timing of the future meeting depending on this.

Also today, the leaders of the governments of Russia and Ukraine discussed the state of bilateral cooperation in trade, economic, energy and other areas. A mutual desire was noted to achieve concrete practical results that would give new impetus to cooperation between our countries.

M. Fradkov postponed his visit to Ukraine due to the gas problem