MUNICH, February 4 (Itar-Tass) — Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich has said that the high price of natural gas supplied to the country is “a challenge for Ukraine.” He spoke at the 48th Munich Security Conference that opened here on Friday. The Ukrainian head of state took part in a panel discussion on the topic “Energy, Resources and the Environment: New Security Paradigms.”
“We are faced with the challenge that hardly any other European country is currently facing,” Yanukovich said. According to him, Ukraine should pay “an exorbitant and economically unjustified price for gas.” “At the same time we have to buy twice as much fuel as we need,” he said. “In fact, the country should spend one-third of the state budget on payments for energy resources.”
“Ukraine’s example shows that there is the need to consolidate our joint efforts to develop clear-cut, transparent and fair rules of the game in the energy sector: of Ukraine as the main transit country, Russia as the supplier and the European Union as gas consumer,” he said.