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Putin agrees to extend gas deal with Ukraine by three months

Xinhua, April 1, 2015 Adjust font size:

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said Russia would extend the current gas deal with Ukraine by another three months starting April 1.

Putin made the decision while attending a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in the day.

"Let's do that ...We will take a look after three months and see what is happening in this area and after that take an additional decision," Putin was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

Russian Prime Minister Medvedev showed his support for the decision.

"The Ukrainian economy is in a very difficult situation and despite the fact that such a decision is perhaps not the most favorable for our budget, we still choose to satisfy the request by Gazprom (Russian gas giant) and the Ukrainian side," Medvedev was quoted as saying.

The so-called "winter package" gas supply deal, struck last October under the mediation of the European Union, expires midnight Tuesday. Under the deal, Ukraine pays Russia 329 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic meters in the first quarter of 2015, which is about 100 dollars below the regular price.

Gazprom on Monday requested the Russian government to consider the possibility of extending the gas deal with Ukraine. Endite