ASTRAKHAN, April 18 - Lukoil still plans to launch Karpatnaftokhim, a petrochemical plant in Ukraine, the Russian oil company's president, Vagit Alekperov told reporters.

"In any country, any actions related to increasing the tax burden are always negative. But at the moment we're not experiencing discomfort in working in Ukraine. And our retail chain is working steadily, and the chemical plant that is now temporarily idle. It is prepared for launch, we're holding negotiations with the Ukrainian government in order to make its operations economically effective," Alekperov said.

"We believe that we are in a constructive dialog with the government of Ukraine and are moving toward common understanding. Because we have one goal - to launch the plant so that it operates stably, so that taxes and wages are paid stably," Alekperov said.