President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko claims that the information that as if he and RF President Vladimir Putin decided to set up the gas price for Ukraine at US$312 per 1.000 cubic meters is lie.
According to an UNIAN correspondent, he claimed this to journalists in Dushanbe today.
The President noted that his agreement with V.Putin was that the only gas price for Ukraine in 2008 will be $179.5 per 1.000 cubic meters of gas. That is why he assessed as an “exceptional lie” the statement that as if the two Presidents decided to charge Ukraine US$315 per 1,000 cubic meters of the more expensive Russian-origin gas.
“I reiterated this ten times to the Prime Minister and the society”, Victor Yushchenko said. He expressed an opinion that the price of US$179.5 was the most optimal price that could be achieved at talks. “And we should preserve this price”, he said.
Victor Yushchenko also reminded of other agreements, in particular, that the sides recognized the agreements, concluded as of January 1, 2008, and kept a status-quo in this sphere. However, at the same time, the sides created a working group that will study the issue of improving the relations in the gas sphere between the two countries.
At the same time, the working group should base on the position that the price of US$179.5 must be preserved, and that the new schemes must not worsen the state of Naftohaz Ukrayiny NJSC and of the Russian side.
The President emphasized it must become a basis for defending the national interests of Ukraine. “I will not support any corporate interests, because I know too good how United Energy Systems [Yulia Tymoshenko used to be the CEO of this company] had formed the interior market several years ago. Earlier this was done by Respublika corporation, and, before that – by Itera [company, connected with Yulia Tymoshenko]. I claimed this to the Prime Minister, I was fed up with this, I want to see these relations transparent and clear”, the President said.
That is why he made an unprecedented decision to declassify the directives that he had given to the government for the talks with the Russian Federation.
“I was forced to do that only on the sole purpose: for the Ukrainian journalist, the Ukrainian citizen know the real stance of the President, and not a distorted or tendentious one, as it is presented in the correspondence of certain business people of Ukraine. I’m outraged at this character of relations. This is not my policy, I want to dissociate myself from it”, he said.
