Ukraine will join the treaty on the common European energy system soon, President Viktor Yushchenko said Monday at an international investment conference on modernization of Ukraine's gas pipeline network.
"Ukraine will soon join the treaty on a common European energy space. I am convinced that its integral part will be the whole Caspian-Black Sea-Baltic energy transit environment," Yushchenko said in Brussels, RIA Novosti reported.
After January's dispute between Ukraine and Russia that saw gas deliveries to Europe suspended, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the EU was interested in uniting Europe's and Ukraine's energy systems.
Russia's transit disputes with its former Soviet neighbors have raised concerns in Europe about being overly dependent on Russia for energy supplies.
Russia cut off gas supplies to Ukraine on January 1 after failing to reach a deal over debt and prices for 2009 in late December, and later halted gas deliveries to Europe, saying Ukraine was stealing transit gas. Kiev denied the accusation.
Yushchenko also said in Brussels that Ukraine plans to install new gas measuring equipment and build new gas measuring stations as part of the modernization of its gas transportation system.
