Ukraine says it will guarantee the transit of Russian natural gas to Europe regardless of the outcome of a Ukrainian dispute with Russia about the price of the gas deliveries.

Ukrainian Energy and Coal Minister Yuriy Boyko made the pledge to foreign diplomats in Kyiv on Thursday. European nations want Ukraine and Russia to avoid a repeat of a 2009 dispute that caused the suspension of Russian gas supplies to Europe through Ukrainian territory. The suspension left many Europeans without heat during cold winter months.

Boyko told the diplomats that Ukraine will “meet all of its commitments” to ensure the delivery of Russian gas to European consumers through Ukrainian territory, whatever the results of the latest pricing dispute.

The Ukrainian government has vowed to renegotiate a 2009 deal signed by Russia and Ukraine's previous administration of prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Kyiv says the 10-year agreement set an excessively high price for Russian gas and forces Ukraine to import more gas than it needs. Ukrainian authorities detained Ms. Tymoshenko last month on charges related to that deal.

Russia's Interfax news agency says the Russian foreign ministry published a commentary on Thursday, saying Ukraine's efforts to amend the 2009 agreement are “legally unfounded.”