Viktor Yanukovych said the volume and price were confirmed during talks in Russia.
"We have received telephone confirmation that the talks [on natural gas supplies] are drawing to a close in Russia, and that the volume [of gas deliveries] has been confirmed at 55 billion cubic meters at least, and at a price no higher than $130 per 1,000 cubic meters."
Yanukovych, who met with his visiting Russian counterpart Tuesday, said the intergovernmental cooperation commission, co-chaired by himself and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, has agreed to depoliticize the issue.
Natural gas exports have been at the center of a bitter dispute between Russia and Ukraine, which broke out last December and continued into this year, with Moscow temporarily shutting off the tap to force Kiev to accept a new price of $250 per 1,000 cubic meters after years of enjoying a concessionary price of $60 as a fellow post-Soviet state.
European consumers, who receive most of their gas from Russia through Ukrainian pipelines, also suffered a brief disruption, raising concerns over the reliability of Russian deliveries. Russia accused Ukraine of siphoning off some of the gas meant for Europe - an allegation Kiev denied. In February, the sides agreed on a compromise price of $95 per 1,000 cubic meters through the end of the year, although Russia said it will raise the price in the future.
Reaching a gas deal with Moscow is part of the pro-Russian premier's efforts to repair Ukraine's ties with its historical ally, which have been strained by the gas dispute as well as a row over Russia's Black Sea Fleet base, on the Crimean Peninsula. Detractors say, however, that Yanukovych's course toward reintegration with Russia and other ex-Soviet republics may stall the Western-leaning president's bid to join the WTO, NATO and the European Union.
