LONDON, Dec. 7 – The main reason of delay in considering a bill on Ukraine’s 2012 budget is the ongoing talks with Russia on the revision of gas contracts of 2009, although the national budget 2012 should be passed by the end of this year, said Social Policy Minister Serhiy Tyhypko.

"The budget should be [passed] on time in any situation: it would be difficult for business to plan their operations without [the budget]. I hope that by the end of this year [the budget] will be adopted," Tyhypko said on the sidelines of the Inside Ukraine conference organized by the Economist magazine with support of the Foundation for Effective Governance in London.