Ukrainian PM Tymoshenko likely to visit Russia soon

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is expected to pay a visit to Russia in the near future, the Russian Embassy in Kiev said on Tuesday.

KIEV, January 15 (RIA Novosti) - Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is expected to pay a visit to Russia in the near future, the Russian Embassy in Kiev said on Tuesday.

Tymoshenko won re-election as premier on December 18, 2007. She has repeatedly announced plans to discuss reviewing energy cooperation with Russia, including gas supplies.

"The visit is being prepared, and I think it could take place in the near future," said Vsevolod Loskutov, minister-counselor of the Russian Embassy.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also confirmed that Tymoshenko was planning to visit Russia, but did not name a date.

Ukraine's new premier, an outspoken pro-Western leader of the 2004 "orange revolution", is expected to drive a harder bargain in relations with Russia than her predecessor, Viktor Yanukovych, and to seek closer ties with Europe.

Natural gas has proved a key factor in Russian-Ukrainian relations over the past two years. In early 2006, a dispute led to Russia briefly suspending gas supplies to its neighbor, affecting consumers in Europe. Tymoshenko has said Rosukrenergo, an intermediary half-owned by Gazprom that sells Russian natural gas to Ukraine, is a tool for corrupt interests and must be removed.