Ukrainian News Agency reported that the Naftohaz Ukrainy national oil and Gas Company and Russia's Gazprom gas monopoly advocate for adoption of a Ukrainian law to allow foreign countries including Russia to take part in managing the Ukrainian gas transportation system.

Mr Anatolii Podmyshalskyi director of Gazprom Sbyt Ukraine Company said the participants in the limited liability company International Consortium of Managing Gas Transportation System of Ukraine approved this initiative at their meeting in September.

He said that "The shareholders from Naftohaz Ukrainy and Gazprom at the recent shareholder meeting of the consortium decided to come out with a legislation initiative to introduce amendments to some laws, so as to allow foreign States including Russia to take part in managing the gas transportation system."

He noted that the questions of long-term perspective of natural gas transit and the questions of modernization of the Ukrainian gas transportation system can be decided after required amendments to the Ukrainian legislation are adopted.

Mr Anatolii Podmyshalskyi said "After the endorsement of the legislation acts it will be possible to sit and decide with interest the questions of volumes of gas transit for a long term perspective and to draw up plans on what should be preserved what should be modernized, and what should be conserved."

The Ukrainian-Russia International Consortium of Managing Gas Transportation System of Ukraine was founded in 2004. Naftohaz Ukrainy and Gazprom are participants in it or par basis.

(Sourced from Ukrainian News Agency)