Ukraine's ex-PM Yekhanurov calls Tymoshenko's accusations 'lie'
KYIV. Aug 1 (Interfax) - Ukraine's former prime minister and ex-defense minister Yuriy Yekhanurov has dismissed the accusations of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko that RosUkrEnergo entered the Ukrainian market when he served as the country's prime minister.
"She [Tymoshenko] is lying as always. RosUkrEnergo has been operating since the summer of 2004," he told journalists outside of the Pechersky District Court in Kyiv on Monday after being questioned for five hours in connection with the gas case against Tymoshenko.
When we are talking about a 2006 contract with RosUkrEnergo, Ukraine received gas at a price of $95 per 1,000 cubic meters, and the gas transit fee went up simultaneously by half, Yekhanurov said. "Thus, the gas price increase was compensated by an increase in transit prices," he said.
Yekhanurov also denied any personal disliking of Tymoshenko. "I have no grievances against Tymoshenko. I already said [at the questioning] how it was," he said
When the five-hour questioning of Yekhanurov was over, Tymoshenko asked Judge Rodion Kireyev to announce a lunch break, but the judge rejected her request and started questioning former transport minister Iosif Vinsky, an Interfax correspondent reported from the courtroom.
Yekhanurov led the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers from September 2005 through August 2006.