YALTA, Sept. 16 - Ukraine will gradually raise the price of natural gas for households and the housing and utilities sector, bringing them to European levels, but any increase in the price of gas has to be preceded by an increase in social standards, President Viktor Yanukovych has said.

"First, we need to stay a step ahead in bringing the level of our social standards up to those in Europe - pensions, social payments and wages, and we will gradually increase the price [of gas]," he said on Friday at the 8th Yalta Annual Meeting entitled "Ukraine and the World: Common Challenges, Common Future."