VLADIVOSTOK, Oct. 30 - Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych said Ukraine wants to be a transit route for Russian gas toward Europe but seeks energy independence.

"Ukraine is a transit country and we want to cash in on this. However, Ukraine also wants to be more independent, so we must produce as much energy as possible in and outside Ukraine. We could build mutually advantageous partnership relations with Russia here. The rest is mere details," Yanukovych said in an interview with the Vesti Nedeli program on Rossiya television on Sunday.