KIEV, December 16 (RIA Novosti) - The liberalization of the Russian natural gas price will end Ukraine's political and energy dependence, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said Friday.
"The sooner we liberalize the [natural] gas price, the sooner we will become competitive and avoid political dependence," he said.
Ukraine has been paying about $50 per 1,000 cubic meters of Russian natural gas under a barter agreement for the past five years. Gazprom decided to raise the price to the market level of $160 starting from 2006. Ukraine, in turn, insisted on charging higher fees for Russian gas transit via its territory. After attempts to reach an agreement failed, Gazprom Deputy Chairman Alexander Medvedev said Wednesday the price for Ukraine would be raised to a total of $220-$230.
