Moscow/Kiev - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met Thursday with Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko for talks on natural gas and other energy issues.

Putin and Tymoshenko held the discussions in a Russian government country mansion in the village of Novo-Ogarevo, outside Moscow.

The top issue for the two prime ministers was gas shipments between the two countries, particularly Russian pricing for gas sold to Ukraine, and Ukrainian pricing for gas shipped by Russia via Ukrainian pipelines to European consumers.

Energy relations between the two former Soviet republics has long been acrimonious, with the Russians accusing the Ukrainians of stealing gas, and the Ukrainians accusing the Russians of using the flow of energy supplies as a political lever.

Tymoshenko and Putin prior to the meetings had called for the two countries to make their mutual gas trade stable and transparent. The current Russo-Ukrainian gas trade agreement will run out at the end of 2008.

Ukrainian media Thursday reported that a general agreement to raise the price of gas sold to the Ukraine - currently at
179.50 dollars for 1,000 cubic meters, or about 50 per cent of the prevailing price in Europe - to match international levels would be announced by the end of the visit.

Tymoshenko however was cautious, saying the goal of her visit was to discuss "general principles" of the gas trade with Putin.

Officials at Gazprom, Russia's natural gas monopolist, have called for a hike beginning in 2009 to 400 dollars - a spike Tymoshenko has said would be disastrous for the Ukrainian economy.

Past Ukrainian governments have used control of pipelines delivering Gazprom gas to Europe - by far Russia's single largest export earner - as a means of pressuring the Kremlin into selling gas to Ukraine at less-than-market rates.

A pricing dispute between the two countries led to a cut off of all Russian gas supplies to Europe for some 48 hours in early
2006.

A second issue slated for discussion during the one-day meeting was atomic energy cooperation, including uranium enrichment, the Interfax news agency reported.

Russia's military occupation of portions of Georgia was not on the agenda. Tymoshenko told reporters in Kiev prior to flying to Moscow. The issue has split Ukraine's government, with some politicians criticising the Kremlin and others calling the Russian troops peacekeepers.

Putin nonetheless touched on the subject during remarks to reporters, saying: "It was extremely unfortunate Ukraine ... sold weapons to Georgia ... but we will not dwell on this as these discussions are devoted to economic matters." (dpa)