Russia still bargains with Ukraine over gas price

Russia is continuing to bargain with Ukraine over gas prices, a spokesman for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Wednesday, refuting earlier reports saying Moscow and Kiev had agreed on a new price. "The Russian government assumes the negotiations go on. Until the new agreements have been signed, it is too early to speak about anything," Dmitry Peskov said. Vitaly Lukianenko, spokesman for Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, said Tuesday that his country and Russia had agreed on gas prices following talks between senior officials from both countries. Ukraine and Russia signed a 10-year agreement on gas supplies in 2009, under which the price was to be set quarterly, based on world prices for oil and petroleum products. Ukraine currently purchases Russian gas at about 400 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic meters but is seeking a lower price. The Ukrainian government has long urged Russia to review the existing gas pricing formula, but the two sides have not reached consensus on the issue so far.