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Ukraine should pay for gas as other countries do — Tymoshenko

“We have a tradition I wouldn’t call a good one and it’s to beg for something,” she said

KIEV, October 7. /TASS/. Ukraine should pay for natural gas as other countries do and it should not plea for a discounted price from Russia, the country’s former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who is running for a seat in parliament as the chairwoman of Batkivshchina party, said on Monday in an interview with the ICTV channel.

“We have a tradition I wouldn’t call a good one and it’s to beg for something,” she said. “Please get up from your knees, raise your head and pay like all other countries do.”

The effective agreement for supplies of Russian natural gas to Ukraine was signed in 2009 with Tymoshenko’s immediate involvement in negotiations and the signing. She called it a standard framework agreement that all other European countries have.

“We’re a European country and it’s not proper for us to cadge anything from Russia,” she said. “This (the signing of the agreement) was the only correct and dignified way to genuine independence.”

As TASS said earlier, Russia, the EU and Ukraine drafted a new package agreement September 26 on settling the gas dispute. The document is yet to be coordinated with the governments of the two countries.

European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger shed some details on the new package agreement. It envisions that Kiev should pay a debt of $ 3.1 billion to the Russian company Gazprom for the gas, payments for which are long overdue.

Gazprom in its turn will supply 5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas to Ukraine by way of mandatory supplies and will issue an option for another 5 bcm. The price is $ 385 for 1,000 cubic meters base on a $ 100 discount that will stay in effect for a period of six months.

After Ukraine repays the overdue accounts totaling $ 2 bln, Gazprom will supply another 5 bcm to Ukraine and this delivery will be deemed mandatory by both sides.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Monday that Moscow as awaiting a schedule of gas debt repayments from Ukraine.