KIEV, May 17 - Ukraine is very close to signing deals to receive natural gas from alternative sources, First Deputy Prime Minister Valeriy Khoroshkovsky said.

"There has been a lot of talk about looking for alternative sources of energy supplies, since this is closely related to this country's energy security. At the present time, Ukraine is as close to receiving gas from other sources as it has never been before. This will not be a compensating volume, but, nevertheless, this is still important," Khoroshkovsky said in an interview with Interfax.