Prime Minister of Ukraine Victor Yanukovych will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the course of his working visit to Moscow today.
According to the government’s press-service, Victor Yanukovych is also due to meet with Russian Prime Minister Victor Zubkov. They will discuss the course of preparing a session of Yushchenko-Putin international commission.
At his first meeting with Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov in Moscow on Tuesday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych will discuss his country`s $1.3 billion gas debt to Gazprom.
Gazprom said last Tuesday it could reduce natural gas supplies to Ukraine in October if the country failed to settle its $1.3 billion debt. The Ukrainian government denied debt accusations saying that was not the government`s debt, and that the sum had been exaggerated. Miller and Boiko agreed on Wednesday that Ukraine would repay its $1.3 billion gas debt by November 1.
A source in the Ukrainian government was quoted by Kommersant as saying that the recent debt issue could have been Gazprom seeking to weaken Ukraine`s position ahead of negotiations regarding 2008 gas prices, or else attempting to gain a larger share of the neighboring gas market.
The gas price for Ukraine rose from $95 to $130 per 1,000 cubic meters in 2007 after a price rise for Turkmen gas Russia re-exports to Ukraine. In 2008, gas could appreciate further to $143-$180.
