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Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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24Feb14
Ukraine Hopes Russian Gas Price Won't Change - Report
Ukraine hopes that the price it pays for Russian natural gas will remain unchanged despite the ouster of pro-Russia President Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine's acting energy minister told Reuters on Monday.
Russia's state gas giant Gazprom agreed with Ukraine's Naftogaz in December to slash the price that Ukraine had paid since 2009 by about a third, from about $400 per 1,000 cubic meters to $268.50.
"We hope the price will be stable," the news agency quoted acting Energy Minister Eduard Stavytsky as saying.
More than half of the 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas consumed by Ukraine each year comes from Russia, according to Reuters.
Stavytsky said in January that Ukraine would discontinue relatively small purchases of natural gas from Europe and instead only buy from Russia.
Ukraine is on the brink of economic collapse following Yanukovych's ouster on Saturday and the prospect that Russia will renege on billions of dollars in promised loans to the cash-strapped country.
Ukraine's interim finance minister said Monday that the country is seeking at least $35 billion in urgent aid from Western powers, including the EU and the United States.
Political unrest erupted in November when Yanukovych's government indefinitely postponed the signing of free-trade and association deals with the European Union to instead focus on strengthening ties with Russia.
The street protests culminated in deadly clashes between police and protesters in Kiev last week in which nearly 100 people were killed, prompting deputies to vote to impeach Yanukovych over the weekend.
A new presidential election is scheduled for May 25.
Ukraine is a major re-exporter of Russian gas to Europe, and political wrangling between the former Soviet states has led to serious disruptions in supplies in the past, especially in January 2006 and January 2009 when deliveries were temporarily halted over payment disputes.
[Source: Ria Novosti, Moscow, 24Feb14]
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