KIEV, March 14 - President Viktor Yushchenko on Friday approved in principle a natural gas supply deal reached earlier this week in Moscow between Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukrayiny, the national oil and gas company.

Yushchenko met Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and other key officials at Boryspil airport late Friday immediately after his arrival from an official trip to Poland.

“The president and the prime minister positively assessed the deal,” Yushchenko’s press service reported after the one-hour meeting.

Yushchenko’s approval to the deal between Gazprom and Naftogaz shows that it was in line with the presidential instructions he had issued ahead of the talks in Moscow, which is crucial for its implementation in Ukraine.

The comment comes a day after Yushchenko had expressed some concerns about the deal, in particular by the possibility that the gas prices may dramatically increase next year and some other issues.

The deal seeks to end a standoff between Gazprom and Naftogaz earlier this month that has resulted in the Russian company cutting - and then resuming - gas supplies to Ukraine by 50%.

The deal eases concerns within the European Union that the spat between Gazprom and Naftogaz could disrupt gas supplies to European customers that rely on Russian gas moved across Ukraine.

The deal between Gazprom and Naftogaz anticipates that Ukraine will receive 49.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas between March and the end of December, which is enough to run the country’s economy.

The deal also anticipates that the gas will be sold at $179.5 per 1,000 cubic meters, which is line with an earlier agreement reached in December 2007.

The deal also removes UkrGaz-Energo, a controversial gas trader 25% owned by Gazprom, from domestic market, while instead allowing Gazprom directly to sell “at least” 7.5 billion cubic meters of gas in 2008, according to the deal.

But this particular clause caused some concerns at the Yushchenko office on Thursday amid fears that Gazprom’s aggressive expansion within Ukraine may threaten the country’s interests.

Yushchenko’s agreement with his Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 12 stipulated that Gazprom should be given the right to sell “not more than” 7.5 billion cu m within Ukraine.

Yushchenko and Tymoshenko agreed that details of the deal anticipating Gazprom’s involvement in the Ukrainian gas supply market will be worked out at a new round of talks that will be held “in the near future,” according to the Yushchenko office. (sb/ez)