Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko on Monday voiced an alternative deal for Russian gas prices and transits to that agreed by the country's prime minister in crisis talks with Moscow on the weekend.
The comments posted on the president's website came even as Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was en route to Moscow to finalize an accord set to end a protracted contractual dispute that has frozen renewed gas transits to Europe for nearly two weeks, reported dpa.
"In view of the unique function of the Ukraine's gas-transport system to the security of energy supplies to Europe, it would be considered economically justifiable to base transit rates in 2009" on European market rates, presidential aide Bogdan Sokolovsky was cited on the website as saying.
Under the deal agreed earlier with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Ukraine would receive a 20 per cent discount on Russian gas if it agreed to keep transit prices at the level paid in 2008.
Both countries would switch to market prices in gas trade from 2010, Putin said.
The statement from Yushchenko's office shed doubt on whether his political rival Tymoshenko had the full-backing of the president to negotiate a deal with Moscow.
Supplies to Europe will not resume, until a bilateral deal is signed between both state energy companies, officials in Moscow and Kiev have said. dpa adc mga
