Russia may offer Ukraine a loan of between...

Putin was speaking after talks in Moscow with his Ukrainian counterpart Mykola Azarov. The meeting also involved Gazprom head Alexei Miller and Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin.

"We discussed cooperation in the nuclear energy sphere and the possibility of financing work on the third and fourth units of the nuclear plant by the Russian side to the volume of $5-6 billion," Putin told journalists.

He also said that Azarov had passed on "interesting" proposals by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in the gas sphere.

Yanukovych, who was inaugurated in February, is seeking to revise the long-term gas deal signed by then prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Putin in early 2009, which increased the price Ukraine paid for Russian gas, further straining the country"s troubled finances.

In return for cheaper gas, Ukraine could offer Russia a stake in its gas transportation system, which currently carries about 80% of Russian natural gas exports to Europe, and

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