DAVOS, Jan. 27 – The steps Ukraine is taking to reduce Russian natural gas consumption by transitioning to alternative gas suppliers, other energy resources and active energy conservation will be much more effective than attempting to lower the price through negotiations, ex-head of Ukraine's national oil and gas company Naftogaz Ukrayiny Oleksiy Ivchenko said.

"This needed to be done long ago, instead of fooling ourselves. It was clear long ago that in the format that was in place before and is still in place today, Russia will not go for improving the price conditions for supplying gas to us," he told Interfax on the sidelines of a roundtable on philanthropy organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation.