You're reading: Azarov: Ukraine signed Kharkiv accords in hope of reducing gas price

Brussels – Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has said that Ukraine signed the so-called "Kharkiv accords" in 2010 because it needed to reduce the price of natural gas laid down in the contract signed by former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

However, Kyiv didn’t manage to get a lower price, Azarov said, speaking at the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday, May 15.

"But there actually was no reduction of the price," the premier said, adding that the apparent discount was more of a rent payment for the Black Sea Fleet’s stay in Ukraine.

As reported, on April 21, 2010, Russian and Ukrainian Presidents, Dmitry Medvedev and Viktor Yanukovych, meeting in Kharkiv, agreed to extend the lease for the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s presence in Crimea for 25 years starting from 2017, when the current lease agreement expires. The move followed a deal between Russia’s Gazprom and Ukraine’s Naftogaz about a 30% gas price discount for Ukraine.

The agreement was ratified by the Verkhovna Rada on April 27, 2010, causing a great deal of controversy in parliament.