A new natural gas agreement being negotiated by Russia and Ukraine envisions Moscow's participation in the reconstruction of Ukraine's pipeline network, Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said Monday, the RIA Novosti news service reports.
"An inter-government agreement targets a long-term strategy. Russia's participation in the modernization of gas pipelines is among the issues included in the document," the Russian minister said.
Shmatko said Russia and Ukraine have been negotiating the agreement since April and have made good progress at talks. He declined to comment further.