MOSCOW, December 31 (RIA Novosti) - Russian natural gas giant Gazprom said Saturday that cooperation with Ukraine should be based on market terms.
"We believe that we should definitely work with Ukraine on market principles next year," spokesman for Gazprom's chief executive Sergei Kupriyanov told the Vesti news program of the Rossiya television channel.
"However, we will not put Ukrainian people into a difficult situation," Kupriyanov said.
He added that all of Gazprom's services involved in the talks with Ukraine were in their offices.
"We are all at work, all the services are prepared for signing the necessary agreements in the remaining eight hours before the end of the day and the year," Kupriyanov said.
He continued that the company had chartered a plane to bring in Ukrainian negotiators if they decided to sign a gas deal.
"We have a plane at the ready, and we are prepared to receive the Ukrainian delegation here," he said. "We are ready to exchange documents in any other way - by fax, for example. The ball is now in Ukraine's court."
