Ukraine will continue the talks on natural gas with Russia seeking to reduce its price through offering a compromise based on an equal footing, Energy and Coal Industry Minister Yuriy Boiko has said.
"We will hold the talks on the price of gas as long as necessary to defend our interests," he told reporters in Sevastopol on Tuesday.
"The negotiations will continue. There are points on which we have made some progress, there are points to which we have fundamental objections, but the president will never allow infringement of our national interests. Our partners have already realized this. So I think that we will find compromise," Boiko said.
He recalled that Ukraine already had "a terrible experience," when the contract with Russia on gas supply was signed overnight, which had been affecting the whole country for two years now. Those who signed it did not know what they signed, Azarov said.
"In the first place, we have a principled position of our president, which is the basis for the talks. Secondly, we are ready to form any scheme on a parity basis and in line with our national interests," the minister said.
