ST. PETERSBURG, June 7. /TASS/. Ukrainian political party "Opposition Platform - For Life" will safeguard the interests of Ukrainian citizens, demanding that the Ukrainian government recover the direct supply of Russian gas to the country, chairman of the party’s political council Viktor Medvedchuk stated during a meeting with head of Gazprom Alexey Miller within the framework of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). Co-chairman of the party Yuri Boyko also attended the meeting.
"We think that in order to protect the interests of the Ukrainian citizens, we must follow the path of lowering gas prices and agreeing with Russia on the direct supply of gas. We must also resolve the transit issue," Medvedchuk said.
He reminded that since January 1, 2020, "the supply of transit gas will end, which means that the reverse gas flow to Ukraine will cease." "This is Russian gas. We cannot live a lie anymore. We have to force the hand of the government to choose this path, which is why we are holding these talks today," he stated.
"Our party, our team will do everything to continue the direct talks on the direct supply and transit of Russian gas, as well as the prospects of creating a gas transport consortium. Let’s hope that these talks will continue and conclude by the end of the year to the benefit of our citizens," the politician noted.
For his part, Miller reaffirmed his commitment to start negotiations on the supply of Russian gas to Ukraine at the price 25% lower than the current one. On March 22, Boyko and Medvedchuk met with Miller and Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev. During the meeting, head of Gazprom noted the "sky-high prices" of gas in Ukraine for the final consumer and stated that the new contract may help lower the gas prices by about a quarter.
The 2019 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is being held on June 6-8. The forum’s motto this year is "Creating a Sustainable Development Agenda". The organizer for SPIEF-2019 is the Roscongress Foundation. TASS is a media partner, the official photo hosting agency and the operator of SPIEF’s presentation zones with support from multinational firm EY, and the Foreign Investment Advisory Council in Russia.