Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk had ordered a halt to natural gas imports from Russia from June 16 after the two countries failed to resolve their gas price dispute, the Ukrainian government said Friday.

"By its deliberate unilateral refusal to settle the conflict, Russia has been undermining the energy security of Ukraine and the European Union," Yatsenyuk was quoted by the government's press service as saying.

Yatsenyuk had also instructed the country's Justice Ministry and state-run energy company Naftogaz to complete preparations to file a lawsuit with the Stockholm arbitration court over the dispute, the press service said in a statement.

Moreover, he asked the National Regulatory Commission to set "economically justified" tariffs for the transit of Russian gas through Ukrainian territory, it said.

Earlier in the day, Naftogaz Chairman Andrey Kobolev said Kiev was ready to compromise with Russia on gas issues, offering to pay a "compromise temporary price" of 326 US dollars per 1,000 cubic meters for Russian gas deliveries for the next 18 months.

Moscow currently charges Ukraine 485 dollars, but Kiev claims a fair price would be 268 dollars.

The two sides have been locked in dispute for three years over a 2009 contract, under which they agreed to tie the price of gas to the international spot price for oil.