KIEV, December 16 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine will not be able to avoid a rise in the price for the natural gas it buys from Russia in 2006, Russian Ambassador to Ukraine Viktor Chernomyrdin said Friday after a meeting with the Ukrainian president.
"I think the issue of gas pricing will be resolved. The situation is such that [the countries] will have to switch to new prices as of next year, but this is a question of negotiations," Chernomyrdin said, speaking at a joint press conference with Vagit Alekperov, president of Russian oil major LUKoil, who also attended the meeting.
Chernomyrdin, formerly a prime minister of Russia with close ties to Gazprom, said he had discussed bilateral issues, including gas pricing, with President Viktor Yushchenko.
"We have to develop a mechanism now. Both economic relations and projects should be based today on world prices," he said.
The Russian ambassador, who was delegated to serve in Ukraine in what many in Russia saw as an attempt to settle the long-standing gas dispute between the two countries, said gas prices were growing in Russia too.
"People in Russia have to pay more for gas today than Ukrainians."
Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom and Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz have been in talks over the gas prices and transit fees for the past nine months. The negotiations stumbled over European gas prices that Gazprom seeks to establish and fees for Russian gas transit via Ukraine.
After numerous attempts to reach an agreement, Gazprom head Alexei Miller said Russia would stop gas supplies to Ukraine if no deal were struck before the end of the year. The announcement was followed by Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Managing Committee Alexander Medvedev saying that Russia would charge Ukraine $220-30 per 1,000 cu m of gas next year, instead of the original target price of $160.
