Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday
urged his Ukrainian counterpart to provide for gas experts to be quickly
deployed to monitor gas flows to Europe - a key condition for Russian reopen
the taps, dpa reported.
Medvedev, who spoke by phone with President Viktor Yushchenko late Monday, said
Russia was ready to immediately resume negotiations on a new contract for gas
shipments to Ukraine in 2009, the Kremlin said.
The contractual spar between the two country's gas monopolies Gazprom and
Naftogaz Ukrainy sparked Russia's first reduction of gas, saying it would not
keep supplying Ukrainian after January 1 without an agreement on pricing and
non-payments by Kiev.
Medvedev reiterated that Ukraine should in the future pay market price it gas
and must settle a 614 million dollar debt for late payments in 2008 that Kiev disputes.
Gazprom has raised its asking price to 450 dollars per 1,000 cubic metres, closer to prices paid by the European Union.
Ukraine, which paid 179.5 dollars for Russian gas last year, earlier rejected
an earlier offer for gas at 250 dollars in 2009, saying it would pay somewhere
between 201 and 236 dollars.
Last Wednesday, Gazprom halted all shipments to stop Ukraine's alleged thieving
of gas destined for European clients, causing thousands of people to suffer
without heat in one of the coldest winters the continent has seen in a decade.
The EU-brokered gas monitoring deal will allow Russia to resume gas flows on
Tuesday morning at 10 am Moscow time (0700 GMT), Gazprom said after all parties
signed a copy of the accord in extraordinary meetings in Brussels Monday.
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