Saturday, April 5, 2014

Ukraine rejects Russia Gazprom gas price hike

April 5 (BBC News Europe) Ukraine has rejected moves by Russia to almost double the price of Russian gas supplies to the country and threatened legal action. Ukraine's interim PM, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, said Moscow's hikes were a form of "economic aggression". His energy minister said Ukraine would try to negotiate a gas deal, but warned that if talks failed Ukrainians should prepare for Russia to cut off supplies. Moscow says the price change is due to Kiev's failure to pay its bills. Russia's state-controlled company Gazprom has raised the cost of gas to Ukraine by 81% to $485.50 (£292.86, 354.33 euros) from $268.50 for 1,000 cubic metres. The increase comes amid tense diplomatic relations following Moscow's annexation of the Crimean peninsula. Correspondents say the gas price rise could also affect supplies to Europe.

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