Russian state energy giant Gazprom and its Ukrainian counterpart said in Moscow Wednesday they have reached a compromise settlement on higher prices for natural gas supplies to Ukraine, according to DPA. The announcement came after all-night negotiations between Gazprom and Ukraine's Naftogaz Ukrainy to try to settle the dispute which depleted Russian gas deliveries to western Europe since January 1, when Russia turned off the taps to its neighbour. The agreements reached between the two former Soviet republics "provide additional guarantees of the export of gas to Europe", Gazprom boss Alexei Miller said. In a complex five-year arrangement, Gazprom is to sell gas for 230 U.S. dollars per 1000 cubic metres to an intermediary company, Rosukrenergo, Miller told a press conference. In turn, Rosukrenergo, which is a joint venture between Gazprom and the Austrian company Raiffeisen Investment AG (RIAG), will sell gas, some of it derived from cheaper Central Asian suppliers, to Naftogaz Ukrainy at 95 dollars per 1000 cubic metres. At the same time, Naftogaz chief Alexei Ivchenko said the Russians will be paying a higher trans-shipment rate for gas being exported to western Europe via pipelines through the Ukraine. The new rate will be 1.6 dollars per 1000 cubic metres and 100 kilometres, compared with 1.09 dollars previously, he said. Ivchenko also noted that the rates will be paid in cash. Previously, Gazprom had paid for the trans-shipments through the Ukraine with gas deliveries. The pricing arrangement represents a compromise after Gazprom demanded that the republic in 2006 pay the going market rate of 230 dollars per 1000 cubic metres. --SP 20 11 Local Time 17 11 GMT
