Ukraine could save around $8 billion a year on gas by joining the Customs Union, Gazprom Deputy Chief Executive Valery Golubev said at the Russian Fuel and Energy Complex in the 21st Century Forum
"Please come in, the doors are open," he said.
Golubev said that, based on the 40 billion cubic meters of gas imported by Ukraine annually, the annual saving from this measure could come to $8 billion.
The Ukrainian cabinet of ministers’ commissioner for partnership with Russia, the CIS and the European Union, Valeriy Muntiyan, recently said that Ukraine could take part in a protocol for forming the Customs Union in July.
Ukraine should carry out economic adjustments as specified by the World Trade Organization for this.
Muntiyan also said that Ukraine would also not be against the idea of a free trade zone with the EU. "Therefore, the next stage is an agreement on a free trade zone between the Customs Union and the EU. We forecast this signing to take place in 2015. Also, agreements on a free trade zone could be signed with APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) and other countries and organizations in the region," Muntiyan said.
However, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister for Economic Development and Trade, Valeriy Piatnytsky, said that Ukraine’s membership in the Customs Union would exclude separate agreements on a free trade zone with any other country. Therefore, negotiations with the EU would come to an end.
Therefore, Piatnytsky proposes singing a separate agreement on free trade with the Customs Union, which would avert such a conflict.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych commented on building closer economic relations with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan through the Customs Union.
"I believe that future development of ties with the Customs Union will hinge on a new agreement base regarding free trade and, possibly, a packet agreement on partnership using the ‘3+1’ formula," he said during his annual address presented to the Upper Rada on Thursday.
Читайте об этом на www.kyivpost.ua
