You're reading: Talks between Kyiv and Moscow on gas joint venture going slowly but surely

Kyiv, October 31 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The talks on setting up a joint venture in the gas sector between Ukrainian and Russian gas monopolies are proceeding without haste, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said.

"No one is making anyone hurry. Everybody is taking their time, and we’re calmly working in that direction," he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Sunday while commenting on the pace of the talks.

According to him, the sides are doing "very serious work to evaluate assets" from both Russia and Ukraine.

As reported, the Russian leadership in spring 2010 proposed to merge OAO Gazprom with national joint-stock company Naftogaz Ukraine. A joint venture on a parity basis was proposed to be created at the first stage of the deal. The Ukrainian side was expected to contribute gas producing and gas transportation assets, while Gazprom was expected to offer gas fields of the same value.

Ukraine and Russia early in September discussed the list of companies that could assess the Ukrainian gas transport system and the Russian gas fields that could form the joint venture in future.

Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said that following the creation of the joint venture, Gazprom will put forth the issue of a merger with Naftogaz.

Gazprom has already provided the Ukrainian partners with the list of the gas fields for the joint venture. It includes ones in western Siberia and southern regions of Russia.