KIEV, March 17 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine wants to discuss with Russia the issue of raising tariffs for the storage of Russian gas and its transit to Europe in 2009, the fuel and energy minister said on Monday.
"The tariffs must be based on market conditions and cover all expenses," Yuriy Prodan said.
Oleh Dubyna, the head of Ukraine's state oil and gas company Naftogaz, earlier said gas storage contracts with affiliates of Russia's Gazprom, effective for 28 years, allowed for the tariff to be increased only twice, and that the first opportunity had already been taken.
Dubyna said the gas storage tariff could be raised if imported fuel became more expensive, with the price hike planned by Ukraine's other suppliers - Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
