The Ukrainian government is considering the possibility of cutting natural gas tariffs for industrial enterprises, Ukrainian Premier Mykola Azarov has said.

"We're thinking about ways how to reduce the gas tariffs for enterprises, as they are extremely high and make our enterprises noncompetitive," the premier said during a hotline conference with the readers of the Komsomolskaya Pravda v Ukraine newspaper in Kyiv on Monday.

Azarov also promised that gas tariffs for the population would not rise after the parliamentary elections.