KIEV, June 18 ??“ President Viktor Yushchenko may soon get involved in talks aimed at resuming Ukraine??™s direct imports of natural gas from Turkmenistan amid signs that Russia has been aggressively seeking to derail the deal.

Yushchenko may soon either call Turkmenistan President Separmurat Niyazov or pay a visit to Ashgabat to help the talks, Kommersant daily reported Monday citing a person familiar with the situation.