Ukraine presses for keeping same natural gas prices for 2006

"The talks were again fruitless. Despite the previously reached high-level agreements to shift to European prices and tariffs, the Ukrainian side continued to insist that the terms of supplies and transit remain the same in 2006 as they are now," the spokesman said.

The price of Russian natural gas for Ukraine has been $50 per 1,000 cubic meters for the last five years, with the reference price at $80. Prices on the European markets grew almost twice during this period. The market price for natural gas for Ukraine, calculated by applying a net-back method, by subtracting the "value" added to the product by processing and transportation from the gross sales price of the product, is around $160.