Unfair Gas Price for Ukraine – Yanukovych

By sagarmedia on March 18, 2012 |

Ukraine is unable to buy Russian gas at current prices, which are “wrong and unfair,” Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said in an interview with a Russian TV channel. “I believe we will have the political will and wisdom needed to solve this issue,” Yanukovych said in an interview go to air at 17:00 Moscow time on Sunday [13:00 GMT] on the Rossiya 24 TV channel. “We are unable to pay such unjustified price for the gas& oil. This is wrong and unfair.Ukraine has been seeking a revision in the 2009 gas deal with Russia since last spring. Russia has tied the price for gas to the international spot price for oil, which has been rising strongly recently due to the instability in the Middle East.Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said that a fair gas price for Ukraine amounted to $200 per 1,000 cubic meters, while Gazprom has said that the company sees no reasons for a revision.
Ukraine pays about $3.8 billion too much every year for Russian gas when compared with neighboring countries, President Viktor Yanukovych said on Wednesday.
“Taking into account [the gas prices] of our neighbors, we pay nearly 30 billion hryvna more for Russian gas. These funds could have been used for improving the social standards and development of our state,” Yanukovych told the government meeting.