Khodorkovsky & Lebedev Communications Center

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin proposed uniting Gazprom and Ukraine's Naftogaz, while the countries continue to work towards greater economic and political integration. At a meeting with Ukrainian officials, Putin said: "We talked about integration in nuclear energy, and we can do the same thing with gas...I propose unifying Gazprom and Naftogaz."

The proposal to unify the companies was met "with an enthusiastic positive response" at a meeting between government officials from the two countries, according to Gazprom Chief Executive Officer Alexei Miller, who added that Russian and Ukrainian officials will meet after the May holidays to discuss merging the companies.