KIEV, May 21 - Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko left for Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, on Thursday to join a meeting of the council of prime ministers of the Commonweals of Independent States, the government reported.

After the meeting of the Council on Friday, Tymoshenko is scheduled to hold a separate meeting with her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss cooperation in natural gas sector between the two countries, the government said.

Tymoshenko is seeking to arrange a loan of up to $5 billion from Russia, which would allow Ukraine’s national oil and gas company Naftogaz Ukrayiny to purchase about 19.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the summer.