KIEV, Ukraine, March 24 (UPI) -- Less than half of the population in Ukraine supports a measure to create a gas consortium with Russia in the energy transit sector, a survey found.
Ukrainian leaders are trying to revise natural gas agreements with Russia following spats that culminated in a decision by gas giant Gazprom to cut gas shipments briefly in January 2009.
That left European customers in the cold for weeks as 80 percent of all Russian gas bound for Europe runs through Soviet-era pipelines in Ukraine.
Naftogaz, the Ukrainian national utility, is under fire for its management of the natural gas system. Ukrainian law prohibits foreign entities from holding interests in the national gas transit system but Kiev is considering legislation that would let Gazprom and European companies join Ukraine in operating gas pipelines.
Ukrainian leaders would have to persuade constituents to back the measure, however. While more than 70 percent of those surveyed in a Ukrainian poll said they support a revised gas agreement with Russia, less than 40 percent said they backed the idea of a gas consortium, Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti reports.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov heads to Moscow Thursday to discuss bilateral energy issues with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
The survey conducted March 9-15 had a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points. There were 2,077 Ukrainian adults interviewed.
