MOSCOW--Russian Prime Minister said Friday Russia should cancel
its 2010 agreement with Ukraine on natural gas, and seek billions
of dollars in compensation from the country.
The 2010 agreement fixed a discount on the selling price of
natural gas from Russia to Ukraine in exchange for Russia's use of
the naval base in Sevastopol, Crimea. The lease agreement for
Russia's naval base in Sevastopol was to expire in 2035.
Mr. Medvedev said the agreement cost Russia $11 billion in lost
profits, and that the sum should be reclaimed from Ukraine's
budget, as now Sevastopol is part of Russia.
The Russian premier said Ukraine's overall debt to Russia
amounted to $16 billion, which included the $3 billion loan that
Russia granted the country in December and about $2 billion that
Ukraine owes natural gas monopoly Gazprom for its gas.
"In my opinion, we cannot afford to lose this money since our
budget is experiencing certain difficulties as well," the prime
minister said.
Write to Alexander Kolyandr at alexanderkolyandr@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires