Ukraine hopes to re-negotiate price of gas with Russia in summer

KIEV, April 30 (Itar-Tass) -- Ukraine hopes it will be able to
negotiate a revision of the price of gas with Russia next summer,
Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Minister Yuri Boiko said on Friday.
"The contract signed by Yulia Timoshenko in January 2009 undoubtedly
requires revision and we have been working on this for sometime. We are
doomed to agree, progress in this regard will surely be achieved. I think
during the summer we will find a compromise," said Boiko on the Ukrainian
TV channel Inter on Friday night.
He said that the level of cooperation between the two countries on the
gas issue was "very high."
"I am convinced that there will be a compromise that will satisfy our
country," said the energy minister. At the same time, he recalled that 80
percent of Russian gas entering Ukraine was being transited through
Ukrainian territory. "This is very important. We guarantee the reliable
supply of gas to Europe," added Boiko.
On Friday, Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov voiced the hope that talks
with the Russian side to revise the pricing formula of gas would be
successful.
"We have started negotiations with the Russian Federation. We laid on
the table some very strong arguments. Russia has turned an attentive ear
to them," he said.
The head of government said that Ukraine was not asking for any
preferences and discounts. "We are asking for a common European approach
to pricing," Azarov said. He sees as a success the very start of
negotiations, which he called "unequivocal progress."
Last Thursday, Boiko and Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller held talks in
Moscow, where they discussed strategic cooperation and mutually beneficial
bilateral relations in the gas sphere. The next round will be held in
mid-May 2011, after further consultations at the working group level.