The lack of any conclusion to the gas talks with Moscow continues to have an adverse effect on the Ukrainian economy, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said.
"The gas price remains our hardest issue," he said at a meeting with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite in Kyiv on Tuesday.
Ukraine is working with its Russian partners and there has been some "movement towards one another" from both sides, he said.
"But the process is still incomplete, which for us is a significant problem related to both the economy and the social sector," the Ukrainian president said.
In particular, the gas price is the foundation for setting tariffs in the housing and utility sector, Yanukovych said.
Also, industry, in particular, the chemical and metallurgical sectors, are on unequal competitive footing on global markets, he said.
"This is why it is, of course, very hard for us on global markets. But these are all objective difficulties to which we are accustomed," Yanukovych said.
