KIEV, Nov. 13 - Ukraine plans to sign an amicable agreement with the Vanco company (registered in the British Virgin Islands) by December, Environment and Natural Resources Minister Eduard Stavytsky said at a press conference in Kiev on Tuesday.

"By December 1 at the latest we should have finished [signing the agreement], since all of the legal deadlines are running out," he said.

Stavytsky added that the an interdepartmental committee on subsoil development is working on settling this issue.

As reported, Vanco Prykerchenska President Jim Bown forecast early this year that the dispute with Ukraine would be resolved by mid-2012. He said that "there are no winners or losers in this."