Ukrainian premier insists on necessity of gas cooperation with Russia

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“Ukraine and Gazprom should develop common position on gas supplies at talks with Turkmenistan; then, gas prices will not change,” Ukrainian Prime Minster Yuri Yekhanurov believes. Mr. Yekhanurov is quoted by a REGNUM correspondent as stating it on July 7 at a congress of Ukrainian Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Union. According to Yekhanurov, at present, Ukraine and Russia are jointly working in order Turkmenistan gas prices remain unchanged in the fourth quarter of the year.

Meanwhile, as Gazprom spokesman Sergey Kupriyanov stated recently, the Gazprom Company proposed to Ukraine to make deals with Turkmenistan itself and directly to settle all existing problems concerning gas supply from the country. According to Mr. Kupriyanov, “if Ashgabat and Kiev achieve agreement, the Russian side will be ready to provide them with transportation service to transport Turkmenistan gas into Ukraine.”

It is worth stressing that earlier Turkmenistan President Saparmurat Niyazov declared his intention to raise tariffs for export gas from $65 up to $100 per 1,000 cubic meters. Russia and Ukraine disagreed with such decision of Turkmenistan. There is agreement on gas supply for $65 between Russia and Turkmenistan, which will be valid till the end of the year; however, it does not envisage gas purchasing for the same price in the second half of 2006. New tariff, proposed by Mr. Niyazov, will lead to price rising for Ukraine too because Russia transports both Turkmenistan and its own gas there.