KIEV, Ukraine, May 14 (UPI) -- Neither gas monopoly Gazprom nor Ukrainian company Naftogaz would agree to the terms of a joint venture, the Ukrainian president said.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in the wake of an April deal for discounted natural gas prices for Ukraine that the two energy companies should merge.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych told the BBC's Ukrainian service that a joint venture was unlikely.
"We understand it is impossible to merge Naftogaz Ukrainy and Gazprom 50 by 50 since both Gazprom and Russia will never agree on this deal," he said.
He acknowledged, however, that Kiev needed European and Russian assistance to modernize the Soviet-era transit pipelines that carry about 80 percent of Russian gas to European consumers each year.
Gazprom chief Alexei Miller said, for his part, that a proposed trilateral mechanism for Ukraine's gas transit sector was "in no way" linked to a Gazprom-Naftogaz merger.
He was quoted in Russian news agency ITAR-Tass as saying that the merger, however, would be a "pragmatic" solution to gas security in the region.
"I am certain that the unification of the two companies will prove a major factor for enhancing the energy security of Europe alongside the diversification of gas supply routes to Europe," he said.
