KIEV, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine has reached an agreement with Russian state energy giant Gazprom on prices for gas deliveries in 2009, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said Wednesday.

    "We have found a way to set natural gas prices for next year," Tymoshenko told a regular cabinet meeting, adding that the final gas prices for 2009 would be announced after Gazprom ended talks with Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.

    Previously, Gazprom has threatened to raise prices for Ukraine to European levels of more than 400 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic meters from the current 179.5 dollars.

    Tymoshenko said market gas prices would be introduced for Ukraine gradually over the next few years.

    "There will be no shock over a sharp rise in gas prices," Tymoshenko added.

    Ukraine sits on the main transit route for Russian gas exports to Europe, accounting for the transmission of a quarter of the continent's gas supply.

    In 2006, a dispute over gas prices between Kiev and Moscow sentjitters among European customers after Gazprom cut all gas supplies to Ukraine.