KIEV, Jan. 19 - President Viktor Yushchenko’s energy security envoy said Monday he was “cautious” over the latest natural gas agreement between Russia and Ukraine, warning it may be a burden for the economy.

Bohdan Sokolovskiy said he was concerned that Russia will be charging Ukraine higher-then-expected price for gas in 2009, while at the same time it will enjoy unchanged fee on gas transit via Ukrainian pipelines.

“Based on the information that we have over the phone, those [price] parameters that had been fixed in the agreement for the first quarter make us cautious,” Sokolovskiy said in comments aired by the Pershiy state television late Monday.