KIEV, Nov. 10 – President Viktor Yushchenko’s office on Monday accused Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko of refusing to disclose details of ongoing talks with Russia over natural gas supplies and prices in 2009.

Andriy Honcharuk, the deputy chief of staff at the Yushchenko office, said the government has been frequently ignoring “directives” from the president concerning the talks.

“The government on many occasions has been failing to implement directives that among other things have urged to define gas prices before the start of drafting the [2009] budget,” Honcharuk said at a press conference.