MOSCOW, January 12 (RIA Novosti) - Dmitry Medvedev, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister and chairman of energy giant Gazprom said Thursday that he hoped Ukraine would become a partner in the company that will supply it with gas from Russia.
"The best situation would be if [Ukrainian state energy company] Naftogaz Ukrainy became a partner of Gazprom," Medvedev said. RosUkrEnergo will supply Ukraine with gas from central Asia, via Russia, under the terms of the agreement reached by the two countries earlier this month following a long-running dispute over gas prices.
Gazprom owns 50% of RosUkrEnergo. The other 50% is held by Austrian bank Raiffeisen. The company is registered in Switzerland.