Ukraine’s Yanukovych brings "interesting proposals" to Russia

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych is bringing to Moscow proposals that will be of high interest for Russia during the talks on the Russian natural gas deliveries to Ukraine, the country’s top diplomat said.

Yanukovych arrives in Moscow on Saturday for talks on various issues with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev and the issue of Russian natural gas deliveries and transit via Ukraine has been named a priority.

“I am sure that our [Ukrainian] president is taking with him proposals that would stir serious interest and become a topic for serious discussions,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Konstyantyn Hryshchenko said in an interview with country’s TV channel Inter late on Friday night.

“The talks would at least result in the subsequent thorough analysis of the current situation in our relations [with Russia], and we [Ukraine] will send a serious signal for the search of a compromised decision that would take into account Ukrainian interests and would not ignore interests of the Russian Federation,” the minister added.

Ukraine is seeking to review gas deals with Russia, saying the 2009 contract’s gas price formula is unfair. Moscow has tied the price for gas to the international spot price for oil, which have risen strongly since due to the instability in the Middle East. Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has said Ukraine was ready for compromises.

The Kremlin reiterated in its statement on Friday that Russia hopes to solve current gas dispute with Ukraine without revising existing contracts.

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