President Viktor Yuschenko wants more active gas negotiations between the Naftohaz Ukrainy national oil and gas company and Russia's Gazprom to sign gas contracts by January 1, 2009.
Ukrainian News learned this from a statement of the Ukrainian presidential press service citing Bohdan Sokolovskyi, the envoy of President Viktor Yuschenko for international affairs of energy security.
According to Sokolovskyi, Yuschenko positively assesses the latest actions of the Naftohaz Ukrainy national oil and gas company on settlement of problems in the gas relations with Russia.
However, the president of Ukraine urges the company to step up the process of negotiations, so as to sign by January 1, 2009, mutually acceptable agreements on cooperation in the gas sector.
Sokolovskyi said President Yuschenko has engaged himself in the settlement of problems related the debt of Naftohaz Ukrainy for the gas supplied to Ukraine.
"Viktor Yuschenko has been holding active consultations with Ukrainian and foreign partners with a purpose of settling all questions of gas supplies, the questions of the debt first and foremost," Sokolovskyi said.
According to him, nearly 26 billion cubic meters of natural gas has been pumped into Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities.
"At the same the protraction of the Ukrainian side, the Cabinet of Ministers, with the settlement of the questions with accounts for 11 billion cubic meters of 26 billion cubic meters threats with negative financial effects on Ukraine," the statement reads.
Sokolovskyi said Ukraine is capable of meeting its liabilities on gas supplies on the domestic market. Ukraine is also capable of securing reliable transit of natural gas to Europe.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, President Viktor Yuschenko has demanded that the Cabinet of Ministers regulate the debts of the Naftohaz Ukrainy national joint-stock company to the RosUkrEnergo company by November 27, 2008.
President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev believes it is impossible to switch to direct supplies of natural gas if Ukraine does not settle the USD 2.4 billion debt it owes for consumed gas.
Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has denied that Ukraine owes Russia USD 2.4 billion for gas supplies.
RosUkrEnergo has said that Naftohaz Ukrainy owes it USD 2.4 billion for gas supplies.
At the same time, Naftohaz Ukrainy said that it owes USD 1.26-1.27 billion to RosUkrEnergo.
Gazprom has said that it is necessary for Naftohaz Ukrainy to pay its gas debt before the transition to direct supply of natural gas to Ukraine from 2009.
Naftohaz Ukrainy and Gazprom signed an agreement on introduction of market prices for natural gas by 2012 in early October.
