The negative balance of the bilateral trade between Ukraine and Russia was caused primarily by inflated prices for Russian natural gas, Ukraine's Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said.
"Roughly speaking, each month we are overpaying substantial sums, which certainly affects the level of our bilateral relations. This is why we are working to review the gas supply conditions. The trade and economic relations must be mutually profitable," he told a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday.
Today the Ukrainian economy is covering this negative balance; however, the risk of the country’s foreign-currency reserves being decreased remains, Azarov said.
Overall, trade between Ukraine and Russia has developed dynamically: This year it saw a 1.6 increase and, according to the estimates of the Ukrainian government, will reach $50 billion, he said.
"Belarus is going down its own path, Ukraine is going down its own path," Azarov said. This was not an answer to the question about gas, Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Vitaliy Lukyanenko said.
"The head of government actually said that basically, Ukraine has its own path, Belarus has its own path, and the same concerns all development issues. This was an answer to a totally different (not gas-related) question," Lukyanenko said.
