Ukraine, Russia won't become enemies despite 'terrible' gas price, says Azarov

13:46, 18.10.2012 1 min read

The current authorities will never make Russia Ukraine's enemy due to the dispute over the price of natural gas, Ukrainian Premier and Chairman of the Regions Party Mykola Azarov has said.

"We support good neighborly relations with Russia. We will never allow ourselves to make Russia our enemy, as the Orange [the previous government led by former Ukrainian Premier Yulia Tymoshenko] did. But in this case, due to the high price of Russian gas, we have to take measures for the development of our own energy base," he said at a meeting with the veterans of the Great patriotic War (WWII) and the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Sevastopol on Thursday.

Azarov added that in some 10 years Ukraine would be able to meet all of its own demand for gas and oil.

"We cannot buy gas at such a price. The price is terrible for our economy… Such gas prices slow down our economic development and destabilize our economy," he said.