MOSCOW, January 17 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom...

"We will see. We are hopeful. The main thing is to ensure the transit of gas," Sergei Kupriyanov told journalists on the sidelines of an international gas summit in the Kremlin.

He added that basic accords on setting up an international consortium to guarantee continuous deliveries of Russian gas via Ukraine could also be agreed.

Kupriyanov said Dutch company GasTerra and Austria's OMV had agreed to join the international consortium, which Gazprom, Germany's E.ON, Ruhrgas and Wingas, Gaz de France and Italy's Eni agreed to set up on Friday.

Gazprom's official spokesman also said that Ukraine had rejected a Russian proposal on swap operations to restart gas deliveries to Slovakia and Moldova, two of the countries hardest hit by the break in supplies.

"There are no official documents, but informally they [the Ukrainian side] have said they will not do it," Kupriyanov said.

Looking beyond the immediate crisis, the official said it

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