You're reading: Azarov: Ukraine, Russia should swiftly switch to ruble gas payments

St. Petersburg - The sooner Ukraine switches to ruble payments for Russian gas, the better, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said.

"I would like to, and the sooner, the better," he told journalists in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, when asked whether transition to gas payments in Russian rubles is possible from 2012.

The matter was discussed at my meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on October 18, and an agreement has been reached that experts from both countries will work out this issue as early as next week, Azarov said.

"There are certain problems, merely technical ones. A whole host of procedures is required to make the exchange possible, because ruble is a currency too. The decision exists, and we know what kind of decision it is, but it must suit both us and Russia," he said.

With such big trade between the two countries, it is easier for Ukraine to pay in rubles not only for gas, but also on a whole host of other goods, the Ukrainian prime minister added.