MOSCOW, Sept. 1 - The Russian Energy Ministry has ruled out the possibility of Ukraine stopping the transit of Russian natural gas to Europe over the current differences between Moscow and Kiev over the price of gas for the Ukrainian domestic market, Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said at a meeting with students at the Moscow Energy Institute.

"Given today's political discussion, integration and the political processes between Russia, Ukraine and Europe, if you will, we rule out the possibility of a tougher scenario involving discontinuation of gas transit," Shmatko said.