Ukrainian Premier Yulia Tymoshenko on Wednesday called for a review of transit fees paid by Russia to ship natural gas to European Union consumers, according to dpa. "The price of gas (sold by Russia to Ukraine) has tripled and the transit fee (Ukraine charges Russia) has practically stayed the same," Tymoshenko said, according to an Interfax news agency report. A Tymoshenko-led coalition won narrow control of Ukraine's parliament in November elections, with reform of the country's natural gas transit sector as a key campaign promise. Tymoshenko suggested a government commission should research the terms of the current Russo-Ukrainian gas transit agreement, signed shortly before her coalition came to power, to see if Russia is paying Ukraine full market rates for use of Ukrainian pipelines. The energy giant Gazprom, Russia's natural gas monopolist, since 2005 has increased the cost of 1,000 cubic metres of gas sold to Ukraine from 50 to 180 dollars. The transit fee charged to Russia by Ukraine has increased some 50 per cent over the same time period. Disputes between the Kremlin and Kiev over gas exports are chronic, threating Russian shipments to Europe. A conflict at the end of 2005 over gas pricing led to a full stop of Russian natural gas sent to Europe for a day, leading to price spikes as far away as Italy.
