MOSCOW, December 20 (RIA Novosti) - The Ukrainian leadership should have discussed changes in the Russian gas pricing system earlier, Russian energy giant Gazprom said Tuesday.
"We believe the Ukrainian leadership should have considered the price formula for gas supplies earlier than 11 days before contracts expired," Sergei Kupriyanov, the press secretary to the Gazprom chief executive, said on the TV channel NTV.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko earlier said Kiev would want to understand the logic behind the new pricing system and that the principles of pricing should be the same for Ukraine and other former Soviet republics importing Russian natural gas, including Georgia, Belarus and Estonia.
"The conditions we are proposing for next year are in full accordance with work principles we apply while dealing with our European partners, both in eastern and western Europe," Kupriyanov said.
The labored nine-month gas talks, initiated by Ukraine, have so far reached an impasse. After attempts to find an agreement failed again, Gazprom Deputy Chairman Alexander Medvedev said the price for Ukraine would be raised to $220-$230, instead of the initially proposed $160, while Chief Executive Alexei Miller threatened to turn the taps off on January 1.
