Ukraine PM says agreed '09 price model with Gazprom

KIEV, July 23 (Reuters) - Ukraine's Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said on Wednesday she had reached an agreement with Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM) on prices for gas deliveries for 2009, but did not give details.

Europe is carefully watching pricing talks between Ukraine and Russia after a previous dispute led to supply disruptions to Europe. Gazprom supplies Europe with a quarter of its gas and the bulk of these volumes are shipped via Ukraine.

"We have found an approach for pricing for next year. We have agreed on a model of setting the price, found a compromise on how to formulate a price for next year," Tymoshenko told a regular cabinet meeting.

"Gazprom will soon conclude talks with Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, and after that we would be able to set a final price for next year," she said.

Gazprom, whose Chief Executive Alexei Miller met Tymoshenko and President Viktor Yushchenko on Tuesday, declined to comment immediately.

The company has previously threatened to raise prices for Ukraine to European levels of more than $400 per 1,000 cubic metres from the current $179.5, which many analysts said would deal a major blow to Ukraine's economy.

But Tymoshenko reiterated that the price would rise towards a market level only gradually.

"There will be no stress or shocks," she said. (Reporting by Natalia Zinets, writing Dmitry Zhdannikov; editing by Anthony Barker)