Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine on the price dispute over Russian gas deliveries were suspended late Wednesday without result and will resume on Thursday, Ukrainian Energy Minister Ivan Plachkov said.

Plachkov was quoted by the Interfax News Agency as saying that there had been "movement" in the negotiations and it's "possible" for the two sides to reach compromises.

His Russian counterpart Viktor Khristenko gave no comment after the talks.

The talks in Moscow were aimed at resolving a crisis arising from Russian gas giant Gazprom's intention to bring gas prices for Ukraine in line with the world market rates to about 220 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic meters, more than four times the current prices for the country.

Gazprom said Ukraine has to accept the price from Jan. 1 or face a cutoff of delivery.

The Ukrainian government, while insisting the price raise be a longtime phased process, implied earlier Wednesday that it may use a 1994 nuclear disarmament pact to appeal for intermediation from Western powers, which assured the country of security guarantees in exchange for its abandonment of nuclear projects.

Source: Xinhua