Lower prices on natural gas for Ukraine will not resolve the state's economic problems, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Tefft said.

Take energy, for example, Tefft said. Less expensive gas is not the answer to Ukraine's economic problems. It will not make many Ukrainian companies much more competitive or the bureaucracy more efficient and transparent, he said in an article he wrote that has been published in KyivPost.

Tefft expressed the view that the prospect could actually produce the unwanted effect of a continuation of the energy dependence, inefficiency, and corruption seen before.

The ambassador said he is convinced that Ukraine, like everyone else, has to pay market price for its energy.