Russian President Vladimir Putin struck an upbeat note on
Thursday over the political relations between his country and
Ukraine and said he had agreed to meet his Ukrainian counterpart
Viktor Yushchenko.
"Political relations between Russia and Ukraine have been
developing quite successfully recently," Putin told visiting
Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Oleksandr Moroz, the Interfax news
agency reported.
"The other day I spoke to Yushchenko, and we agreed on a meeting
as part of a commission that was set up a while ago but we have
unfortunately been unable to launch so far," Putin said, referring
to the Putin-Yushchenko commission.
Moroz, for his part, said: "Nobody has any doubt that there is a
need to build up and strengthen our relations."
The political situation in Ukraine continues to stabilize, which
would allow mapping out long-term plans for economic cooperation,
he added.
Speaking a news conference in Moscow, Moroz also said talks with
Russia on the price of gas supplies to Ukraine -- one of the
sticking points in recent Russia-Ukraine relations -- have been
completed but he declined to elaborate on the results of the
talks.
Ukraine currently pays US$95 per 1,000 cubic meters to Russian
gas giant Gazprom, which supplies Ukraine with a mix of gas from
Russia and Central Asian countries under a deal reached at the
beginning of this year.
That deal, which nearly doubled the price from last year for
Kiev, sealed a bitter dispute during which Russia briefly cut off
supplies to Ukraine.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych visited Moscow in
late September for gas talks with Russian officials. The two sides
agreed on the amount of gas Russia would supply to Ukraine in
2007-2009 but have yet to agree on the price.
(Xinhua News Agency October 13, 2006)
