You're reading: Yanukovych again vows that gas tariffs for population won’t rise

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has stated that a requirement of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to increase gas tariffs for the population will not be accepted under any conditions.

According to the press service of the president, Yanukovych said this at a meeting with culture and art sphere employees on Friday.

“The IMF’s requirement to increase gas tariffs for the population won’t be accepted under any conditions. We will never take steps that can make people suffer and affect the material status of the population,” the president said.

As reported, the IMF and other international experts insist that Ukraine should gradually increase energy prices to an economically justified level.

The Ukrainian president and prime minister have stated numerous times that the tariffs won’t rise in the near future, as the cost of Russian natural gas for Ukraine [more than $400 per 1,000 cubic meters] is unfair.