Russia has vast hydrocarbon reserves while Ukraine controls pipelines that pump them Moscow's main client, the European Union.
"I think this option is promising," Viktor Yanukovych was quoted by the government press service as saying. The premier called on the ex-Soviet neighbors to develop a new model for cooperation in energy security.
Yanukovych's statement came in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement earlier in the day that Ukraine might be granted access to Russian oil and gas fields if a joint gas transport consortium is set up.
Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuriy Boiko said Kiev and Moscow are discussing ways of integrating in the energy sector on Ukraine's initiative, a process that Putin described as "revolutionary" in his annual news conference in the Kremlin.
Boiko said, "Ukraine has made a series of proposals to Russia, and we have already selected a model that will be further developed and improved." The current level of bilateral relations allows such projects to be realized, the minister said.
Relations between Russia and Ukraine dipped to their lowest point after "the orange revolution" in Kiev in 2004, which swept pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko to power. At the beginning of 2005, a bitter gas price row erupted between the countries during which Russian gas monopoly Gazprom briefly turned off the gas taps to Ukraine amid freezing temperatures, sparking international criticism.
However, ties have strengthened between the neighbors since Yushchenko's rival in the 2004 presidential race, Viktor Yanukovych, became prime minister last August. The pro-Kremlin premier has steadily consolidated his power, a process that culminated in a new Cabinet law passed by parliament last month, cutting the president's powers.
