A number of current issues remain on the agenda of Ukrainian-Russian relations, and the optimization of the terms of oil and gas contracts signed with Russia in 2009 is a priority among them, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has said.
“The central point of the negotiations is now the review of the current contract of 2009, in particular, in terms of changing the formula of prices for imported Russian gas,” reads the president’s annual address to the Verkhovna Rada, which was published on Thursday.
At the same time, Yanukovych said that trade between Ukraine and Russia in 2012 reached more than $51 billion, which was lower than in 2011, when the trade exceeded $55 billion.
“This requires a search for new forms of cooperation and the intensification of economic relations,” Yanukovych said.
In this regard, he said that the signing of a long-term comprehensive program for economic cooperation between Ukraine and Russia until 2020 is an undoubted bilateral achievement.
Yanukovych also noted the positive dynamics in the field of inter-regional and cross-border cooperation.
