Russia's energy giant Gazprom and its Ukrainian counterpart Naftogaz Ukrainy signed a new gas deal in Moscow on Monday, paving the way for resuming Russian gas supplies to Ukraine and Europe.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Yulia Tymoshenko were present at the signing ceremony at the White Palace, the Russian government's compound in downtown Moscow.
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Russian Premier Vladimir Putin (R) and Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko shake hands during the signing ceremony in Moscow, capital of Russia, Jan. 19, 2009. Russia and Ukraine signed a contract on supplying gas to Ukraine over the next 10 years. [Shen Bohan/Xinhua]
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The new agreements include a contract to supply gas to Ukraine and a contract for gas transit, which are both long-term for 10 years, Putin said, noting the Russian gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine could resume soon.
"I hope all the gas transits to Europe will be resumed within the next few days and Gazprom has received an order to resume exports along all the routes and to fully meet the European customers' daily needs," Putin said after the signing ceremony.
Tymoshenko, describing the terms of the contracts as "very favorable for Ukraine," said they could avoid the repeat of the annual disputes in the future and Russian gas will be delivered to Europe as soon as it enters Ukrainian pipelines.
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Russian Premier Vladimir Putin (3rd L), Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko (1st L), Russian Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller (4th L) and Ukrainian Naftogaz chief Oleg Dubina (2nd L) attend the signing ceremony in Moscow, capital of Russia, Jan. 19, 2009. [Shen Bohan/Xinhua]
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"The agreements signed in Moscow exclude subjective approaches and give us reason to believe that there will be no debates or tensions in the following years and that the process of setting gas prices will be normal and predictable," she said.