Russia

Ukraine Reaches Preliminary Gas Deal With Russia

Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych (right) welcomes his Russian counterpart, Mikhail Fradkov, in Kyiv (epa) October 24, 2006 -- Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych says Russia and Ukraine have agreed that the price of supplies of Russian natural gas in 2007 will be no higher than $130 per 1,000 cubic meters.

Yanukovych was speaking at a joint press conference today with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, who was in Kyiv to take part in a meeting of the Russian and Ukrainian governments' committee on economic cooperation.


UkrGasEnergo, a joint venture, and RosUkrEnergo, the intermediary company set up to supply Ukraine with Russian gas, confirmed the agreement.


Yanukovych said that the volume of gas supplied to Ukraine in 2007 is expected to be at least 55 billion cubic meters.


Ukraine currently pays $95 per 1,000 cubic meters, but Russia's Gazprom had threatened to raise prices even higher than the $130 agreed upon today.


Fradkov said gas contracts were an "important, but not the sole" component of Russian-Ukrainian economic cooperation.


Fradkov also called for the two countries to "synchronize" their bids to join the World Trade Organization (WTO).


Fradkov was expected to meet also with Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.


(Interfax-Ukraine, ITAR-TASS)

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