MOSCOW (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday warned Ukraine against refusing a reduced gas price offer, accusing Kiev of driving negotiations into a "dead end" with demands for further price cuts.

"If our offer is rejected then we will shift to a whole other level. That is not our choice and we do not want that," Russian news agencies quoted Mr Putin as saying.

He added that Russia had proposed to cut its gas price offer by US$100 to a final price of US$385 per 1,000 cubic metres.