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Ukraine prepares documents for suing RF for gas contract terms

"We just want to go back in a civilized mode, to the European market price," Yanukovich said

MOSCOW, September 6 (Itar-Tass) —— Ukraine has prepared documents for filing a suit in court of arbitration to resolve the gas dispute with Russia, President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovich said in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper.

Kiev demands from Moscow an average German gas price minus transportation costs and 100 dollars of additional discount provided under the Kharkov agreements. Answering a question about Ukraine’s possible concessions in the gas negotiations, he agreed that concessions should be, when it comes to discounts and price reductions. However, Yanukovich said that Ukraine "does not need it."

"We just want to go back in a civilized mode, to the European market price," he said.

"The formula of 2009 prices is questionable, it, to put it mildly, is controversial, we can not agree to it. If you look at realistic prices, for example, in Germany, we pay about 200 dollars more,” Yanukovich said. “And we would like understand for what we are punished! But transit tariff in Germany is two times higher than in Ukraine. Why? For us this overpayment - and we believe that we are overpaying – is about 5-6 billion dollars every year. During the ten years of the contract it is 60 billion! If you look in the context of the country’s annual budget, it is approximately 20 percent. About what kind of additional concessions to Russia can you speak then? Now we speak only about returning to a fair price - a German price minus 70 dollars in transit tariff from the Russian border to Germany."

President of Ukraine expressed the opinion that the existing gas contracts "discredit the strategic level" of relations between Ukraine and Russia, and their terms are "written as if for an enemy."

"We have been negotiating this issue for a year and a half,” Yanukovich said. “Russia's position is absolutely unacceptable for us, and if it is not changes, we will go to international arbitration. There is a system of international courts - the Stockholm court, and the International Court of Arbitration in the Hague.”