Russia's construction of new export gas pipelines bypassing Ukraine is raising the price of gas for consumers, Ukrainian Energy and Coal Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn said at the IHS CERAWeek conference in Houston.

"By building new lines bypassing Ukraine, Russia is raising the price for the end consumer, because there is already existing capacity," the minister said.

Representatives of Ukraine, Russia and European countries "should sit down together and stop playing politics, and talk about economics," Demchyshyn said.

He recalled that 60 billion cubic meters (bcm) of the 160 bcm of gas that Russia exports to Europe is shipped through Ukraine.