MOSCOW, September 30 (RIA Novosti)-Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov will discuss supplies of natural gas when he arrives in Moscow Friday on his first official foreign visit since his appointment on September 22, the Ukrainian Embassy in Moscow said. Yekhanurov is expected to focus on energy supplies and natural gas during a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Mikhail Fradkov.
Kiev is seeking to maintain the terms of the current bilateral agreement under which Ukraine buys natural gas from Russia at $50 per thousand cubic meters when it is pumped through its territory, whereas European countries pay Russia more than $100 per thousand cubic meters.
Moscow wants to replace the current gas-for-transit scheme for cash payments, and make Ukraine pay the European price, which is expected to reach $160 in 2006.
