KIEV, July 8 - Ukraine is not planning a merger of national oil and gas company Naftogaz Ukrayiny with Russian gas giant Gazprom, President Viktor Yanukovych said on Friday.

"We are not planning such a merger as Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukrayiny," the president said at a press conference.

Plans do call for "Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukrayiny involvement in other joint projects such as modernizing Ukraine's gas-transport system, in the development of certain deposits, and possibly in the extraction of oil or gas in various territories, including in Ukraine," Yanukovych said.