KIEV, April 11 (RIA Novosti) - Monopoly exporter RosUkrEnergo will continue to supply Russian gas to Ukraine despite Kiev's pledges to axe intermediaries in the gas supply scheme, a presidential spokesman said on Friday.
The convoluted scheme of Russian natural gas supplies to Ukraine was criticized by Ukraine's Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko for corruption and non-transparency. The scheme involved monopoly exporter RosUkrEnergo, 50% owned by Russian energy giant Gazprom, and its subsidiary UkrGazEnergo.
"The contract has finally been signed, which means that Ukraine will start using legitimate gas," said Oleksandr Shlapak, first deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential press service.
He said Ukraine's state gas company Naftogaz had finally signed a contract with RosUkrEnergo to deliver 49.8 billion cubic meters of gas at $179.5 per 1,000 cubic meters in 2008.
Russia demanded that RosUkrEnergo continued to be involved in the gas supply chain.
