Saturday, December 31, 2005

Gas War: Talks Fail

via korrespondent.net, December 31, 17:13
Prime Minister Yuri Yekhanurov's press secretary Valentin Mondrievsky has announced that Ukraine is ready to pay for Russian gas at the market price from April 2006, Ukrainskі Novini reports.

"We are taking in this proposal (by Russia) and we declare that Ukraine is ready to make the transition to the market price of the gas. But the question of price is a question of negotiations," said Mondrievsky. Fuel and Energy Minister Ivan Plachkov and Aleksei Ivchenko, chairman of the administration of the national joint-stock company "Neftegaz Ukrainy", are continuing negotiations.
CNN has a report beginning
Ukraine warms to Putin gas deal

MOSCOW, Russia -- Ukraine could accept a Russian compromise deal in a dispute over natural gas supply prices, but more talks are needed, a spokesman for the Ukrainian prime minister is reported to have said.
Update: The talks have failed, and according to Gazprom Russian gas supplies to Ukraine will be cut off tomorrow, January 1, the BBC reports.

A Reuters report by Dmitry Zhdannikov and Ron Popeski is here.

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