KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - Ukrainian Prime Minister Anatoliy Kinakh and his Russian counterpart Mikhail Kasynov are expected to sign a gas transit agreement during trade talks in late May, news reports said Friday.
The expected agreement will decide the volume of natural gas that transits Ukraine en route to western Europe, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.
Kinakh and Kasynov are also expected to discuss transit of Russian crude oil via Ukrainian pipelines, how Russian companies might help finalize construction of two Ukrainian nuclear power stations and implementation of a joint program to overhaul the countries' commercial aircraft fleets.
Kinakh hinted that a free trade agreement with Russia might also be discussed at the talks to be held in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on May 20 and 21, ITAR-Tass said.
Gas transit has been a volatile issue in relations between the two former Soviet republics. Russia started talks with Ukraine's neighbors about building alternative pipelines about two years ago, after accusing Ukraine of illegally siphoning off Russian gas and allowing its debts for official imports to increase.
Ukrainian officials have said the country has stopped the siphoning and settled its debts.
Ukraine could lose more than dlrs 3 billion in transit fees if Russia and European countries build gas pipelines that bypass the country, experts said.
Russia supplies about a quarter of Europe's natural gas, of which about 90 percent transits Ukraine, bringing the country dlrs 1.5 billion in annual revenue.