KIEV, January 15 (RIA Novosti) - The Ukrainian presidential representative believes a price of around $200 per 1,000 cubic meters for Russian natural gas supplies to Ukraine would be economically justified.

"The economically justified price for the first quarter of 2009 should be between $192.6 per 1,000 cubic meters with a transit rate of $2.2 [for 1,000 cu m per 100 km] and $218.8 with a transit rate of $2.47," said Bohdan Sokolovsky, the president's international energy security envoy.

According to the Ukrainian president's website, the calculations, "based on real prices for Central and Western Europe," have been presented to the Russian side.

Sokolovsky said preferential prices in place until December 31, about half the supply and transit rate, were not considered in the calculations.

Russian energy giant Gazprom earlier said that Ukraine had refused an earlier preferential price of $250 per 1,000 cubic meters and would now have to pay "the average European market price of $450-470."

Moscow and Kiev failed to reach an agreement on a new gas contract for 2009 on December 31, which led to Russian energy giant Gazprom suspending supplies to Ukraine on January 1. Gazprom cut off supplies to Europe a week later saying Ukraine was stealing gas intended for EU consumers.

Following mediation by the EU the two sides agreed to resume supplies. However, a test delivery was unsuccessful on Tuesday and Russian gas via Ukraine has so far failed to reach the EU, leading Moscow to accuse Kiev of blocking the gas deliveries.

Russian energy giant Gazprom complained earlier on Thursday that it had received a third refusal from its Ukrainian partner Naftogaz to transit Russian gas on to Europe over the lack of a "technical" gas transfer agreement for 2009.

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