The agreement on the cut of $100 in the gas price reached by the Ukrainian and Russian presidents will boost Ukraine's economy, according to experts polled by Interfax-Ukraine.
The director of energy programs of the Razumkov center Volodymyr Saprykin said that the discount on the gas price would considerably increase the competitiveness of Ukrainian industry.
"The agreement on cutting the gas price is rather important and cardinally increases the competitiveness of Ukrainian goods, primarily in the chemical and metals sectors," he said.
Bohdan Sokolovsky, ex presidential envoy for international energy security, agreed.
"As for the discount, of course, this is a positive thing for Ukraine. However, according to my calculations, the price of gas for Ukraine should be $200-220 per thousand cubic meters, but $234 with the existing transit fees is an acceptable price. I wouldn’t call it a discount, as a price of some $230 per thousand cubic meters is a fair price for Ukraine," he said.
Sokolovsky said that Ukraine failed to revise the gas price formula registered in January gas agreements signed by National JSC Naftogaz Ukrainy and Russia’s OJSC Gazprom.
Saprykin also said that there is a large political component in the issue of the gas price revision for Ukraine both in the context of the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s statement that the discount on the gas price for Ukraine would be taken into account in the fees paid by Russia for its Naval Base in Sevastopol and in the context of the Gazprom’s statement that Naftogaz Ukrainy would pay for gas with a discount equal to the cut of the export duty set by the Russian government.
"We see that the gas contract is deliberately pegged to politics," the expert said.
In turn, Sokolovsky expressed hope that there would not be linkage between amendments to the gas contract on the sale and purchase of gas and statements on prolongation of the staying of the Russian Naval bases in Ukraine.
"Statements on the prolongation of the staying of the Russian Fleet in Ukraine should be settled on paper, which is doubtful regarding the Ukrainian Constitution, which bans the placing of foreign military bases on Ukrainian territory," he said.
