Proposal to freeze Russia's gas prices slammed
Russia’s state-owned gas giant Gazprom today criticised a proposal by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko to freeze the price of gas it supplies to Ukraine until January 10.
Yushchenko’s proposal to Russian President Vladimir Putin was to order both countries’ gas companies to complete talks on supplies and transit in 2006 and sign a contract in the first 10 days of January, freezing prices until then, according to a statement released by Yushchenko’s office.
Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said Gazprom could not accept or reject the proposal because it was addressed to Putin, but added that the company fears a 10-day delay could lead to further postponements.
“We have been conducting negotiations for nine months already, and nothing was stopping Ukraine from resolving this question in a timely fashion.”
Ukrainian leaders tried to reassure their people they would not be left in the cold because of a dispute with Russia over the price of gas, but negotiations today showed little progress.
