No gas accords to be signed at interstate commission's Yalta meeting - Ushakov
MOSCOW. July 11 (Interfax) - No gas agreements are likely to be signed after a meeting of the Russian-Ukrainian interstate commission to be held in Yalta on July 12 under the chairmanship of Russian and Ukrainian presidents Vladimir Putin and Viktor Yanukovych, said Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov.
"Gas will be discussed at the talks, naturally, but documents have not been drawn up yet. I don't think they will have been negotiated in the remaining hours," Ushakov told the media on Wednesday.
He said also that despite certain disagreements in approaches to individual aspects of the gas theme, such as prices and the amount to be bought by Ukraine, the parties continue systematic work to draft agreements that would elevate cooperation in this area to a higher level.
Putin and Yanukovych will discuss prospects of resolving this strategic problem soon, first of all in the context of the work on a new full-scale agreement to broaden cooperation in the gas sector, and of the implementation of the agreements between Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukrainy to jointly develop the Pallas field in the Black Sea shelf, Ushakov said.
On cooperation in the energy sector, Ushakov said that the project to launch parallel work of the Unified Energy Systems of Ukraine and of Unified Energy Systems of Russia, is expected to produce a serious practical effect. A relevant intergovernmental agreement is in the making, he added.
The Ukrainian and Russian leaders will discuss cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, he went on to say. A memorandum to be signed by the Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and the Ukrainian Energy Ministry on integration and cooperation, says two joint holding companies will be set up - in the nuclear fuel cycle and in energy machine-building, Ushakov said.
Overall, more than a dozen agreements are to be signed, including a joint statement on the delimitation of maritime spaces in the Sea of Azov, in the Black Sea and in the Kerch Strait, an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the prevention of emergencies, given the Russian Black Sea Fleet's activities in Ukraine, and an intergovernmental memorandum on fighting terrorism.
Careful attention will be given to stronger regional and cross-border ties, he said. Russian-Ukrainian interregional economic forums are held each year with the presidents participating, he said, adding that the third forum is to be held in Nizhny Novgorod in 2012. The Interstate Commission will discuss the project to intensify ferry services between ports in the Caucasus and in Crimea, where passenger and cargo freightage grew 20% in 2012.
International problems will be discussed, too, including the Transdniestrian settlement.
