If Ukraine joins the Customs Union, it will see the price it pays for Russian gas fall to $160 per 1,000 cubic meters, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said in conversation with officials on Tuesday in Odesa.
“Russia is putting forth conditions to us: join the Customs Union, and tomorrow you will get gas for $160,” he said.
In general, inclusion in the Customs Union would fall within
Ukraine’s national interests, since about 40 percent of the country’s
international trade is within the Customs Union (Belarus, Russia and
Kazakhstan), Azarov said.
On the other hand, Ukraine conducts about 30 percent of its trade with the
European Union and, accordingly, joining a free trade area with the EU
and political association with the EU would also “answer to the national
interest,” he said.
Azarov stressed that Ukraine does not want to have to choose between
the Customs Union and a free trade area with the EU; it would rather
work with all sides.
According to Ukraine’s national oil and gas company Naftogaz Ukrainy,
Russian gas cost the country about $416 per 1,000 cubic meters in the
first quarter, some $425 in the second, and around $426 in the third.
In the middle of September, Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry
Minister Yuriy Boiko predicted that Russian gas would cost Naftogaz
Ukrainy $432 per 1,000 cubic meters in the fourth quarter.
