"The supply chain from Russia to Europe through Ukraine will work without interruption if interests of all parties are taken into account," Yuriy Boiko said.
"I am sure that the only way to achieve this goal is through a dialogue," the minister said. "We will make all efforts to ensure stable supplies of energy to European consumers.
Russia briefly cut off gas supplies to Ukraine, a transit country, over a price dispute in the beginning of this year. Russian energy giant Gazprom accused Ukraine of siphoning off Europe-bound gas during the spat.
The price of natural gas has been a contentious issue with Russia during West-leading President Viktor Yushchenko's time in office since 2004. It is also an important factor for Ukraine's economy, which is driven largely by the fuel-intensive heavy industry.
At the moment, Ukraine pays $95 per 1,000 cubic meters of mixed gas from Russia and Turkmenistan. The pricing formula is based on a rate of $230 for Russian gas and $60 for the Central Asian republic's gas under a January deal for the first half of 2006.
Ukraine's newly elected Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, who ran in the 2004 presidential and 2006 parliamentary elections on a pro-Russian ticket but has toned down his enthusiasm a notch since beginning his second stint as premier, said Wednesday after talks with his Russian counterpart that the price would remain in place until the end of the year. He also said that next year's price would depend on the market.
Russia's Gazprom energy giant is seeking to raise gas prices for Ukraine and other former Soviet republics to average European levels of $230.
