Ukraine is taking measures to diversify its energy supplies away from a dependence on Russia, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said on Wednesday.
"The energy prices we are dealing with are not, in my opinion, the best for us, so we are taking very serious steps to ensure energy supplies from other countries," Azarov said.
Ukraine, which is 100 percent dependent on Russian energy supplies, is seeking to revise a 2009 gas supply contract signed by former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
The current leadership claims the contract's gas pricing formula, which links the price for gas with the international oil price, is unfair and has forced Kiev to overpay since oil prices have risen strongly.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday during talks with Azarov in Moscow that Russia's price formula for gas is universal for all countries and Ukraine "is no exception."
Azarov, who said earlier he planned to seek lower prices for Russian gas or higher transit tariffs, confirmed on Tuesday that Ukraine would "follow all earlier reached agreements with Russia."
Alexei Miller, head of Russian gas giant Gazprom, said on Monday that the Russian gas price for Ukraine would nearly double in the fourth quarter of this year, amounting to nearly $500 per 1,000 cubic meters.
Ukraine is paying $295.6 per 1,000 cubic meters of Russian gas in the second quarter and expects to pay $350 in the third quarter.
VIENNA, June 8 (RIA Novosti)
