18 Jun 2013 17:04

Gas from RWE costs Ukraine substantially less than gas at Russian border - PM Azarov

PARIS. June 18 (Interfax) - Gas produced in Russia that Ukraine buys from German RWE is $100 per 1,000 cubic meters cheaper than essentially the same Russian gas purchased at Ukraine's border with Russia, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said at a meeting with the French business community in Paris on Tuesday.

"We are already receiving gas from RWE, pumped through Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. That gas is cheaper than the Russian gas we buy at the Russian border and RWE is basically selling us the same gas that it buys from Russia," Azarov said.

"This gas, which travels though a long chain of pipelines, returns to us $100 cheaper," he said.

Azarov estimated that Ukraine annually pays $7 billion more than it should for Russian gas.