DUSHANBE, September 2 (Itar-Tass) —— Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will negotiate with his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovich at a CIS summit here on Saturday. The presidents are planning no separate bilateral meeting, Russian president’s spokesperson Natalia Timakova told reporters on Friday.
“The president traditionally negotiates with all CIS counterparts at CIS summits,” she recalled. “Therefore, he will meet with the Ukrainian counterpart on the sidelines of the summit,” the spokesperson said. However, as for a separate meeting with Yanukovich, “the president does not plan such a meeting,” Timakova noted.
The issue of a separate meeting between Medvedev and Yanukovich was raised over the Friday statements by Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov, who affirmed that the presidents of the two countries will discuss Russian gas supplies in the neighboring republic at a CIS summit in Dushanbe. Kiev is seeking from Moscow to revise the gas contracts, since Ukraine believes that the Russian gas price is overstated. Moscow is ready to continue the negotiations on this issue, but notes that the current agreements should be fulfilled in any case.