Gazprom will sell gas to Ukraine at $360 per 1,000 cubic meters in the first quarter of 2009, Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko said on Tuesday, arguing that the latest pricing formula agreement between Ukraine and Gazprom meant "a patent defeat" for his country.
"If the head of Gazprom speaks about a price of $360, it's what the price will be. There will be no other price for the first quarter of 2009," Yuschenko said at a news conference in Chernihiv.
The benchmark price of $450 set by the Ukraine-Gazprom pricing deal is "a patent defeat" for Ukraine, he said, adding he knew no country in Europe that Gazprom charges that price.
He also dismissed a statement by Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko that this year's average gas price for Ukraine will be $228.80 per 1,000 cubic meters.
"If the price for gas is $360 in the first quarter, one must have a price of $132 per 1,000 cubic meters in the fourth quarter in order to get the average price of $228. It is clear to everyone that there will be no such a price," he said.
"On the whole, our government has reached quite a difficult agreement, an agreement whose meaning is not yet seen either in the political or in the business sector," and the price that has been agreed "is forcing the state to revise its relations with all consumers," Yuschenko said.
He said the government would have to think how to adapt Ukraine's industry and utilities to this price.
