MOSCOW, Sept. 19 – The upcoming elections in Ukraine and Russia will have no effect on bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, Russian Ambassador to Ukraine Viktor Chernomyrdin said.

"I don't think that the elections will have any effect on gas prices. This is a serious question and it will be resolved through negotiation. Ukraine will play a key role here: what government will be formed, what it will be like," he said in an interview with the Profile magazine published on the Web site of the Russian Foreign Ministry.