The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved amendments to several laws required to launch the new law on the gas market from October 1, Naftogaz Ukrainy Board Chairman Andriy Kobolev has said.

"The law on the gas market has been passed, and amendments to 17 laws have been approved by the cabinet this week, and next week they will be submitted to the parliament. I hope that the lawmakers will support them," he said at the 12th Yalta European Strategy (YES) Annual Meeting in Kyiv on September 11.

Kobolev also said that the introduction of natural gas market reform would not be easy and smooth, but "there is no other way."

"Now we speak about the start of the new law on the gas market. I still believe that we can start from October 1. This would be a large change of a huge segment," Energy and Coal Industry Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Demchyshyn said.

As reported, the Ukrainian parliament passed the law on the gas market on April 9, 2015. It is intended to create the effective competitive environment on the natural gas market, taking into account the key requirements of EU laws.