MOSCOW, January 3 (RIA Novosti) - Russian natural gas giant Gazprom and Ukraine's state oil and gas company Naftogaz will hold negotiations Tuesday on the gas issue and the Ukrainian delegation has already left for Moscow, a Gazprom official said.
"The Ukrainian delegation is, indeed, arriving in Moscow today and talks on the gas issue are planned," the official said.
Gazprom and Ukraine's Naftogaz has failed by now to agree on gas prices in 2006.
In the past five years, Ukraine had purchased Russian natural gas at $50 per 1,000 cubic meters. In March 2005, Ukraine initiated transition to market relations in the gas sphere between the two countries and proposed that Russia pay with cash instead of gas for Russian natural gas transit across its territory. After that, Russia said its gas price for Ukraine would rise to $160 per 1,000 cubic meters.
After Ukraine rejected Russia's price offer, Russian natural gas giant Gazprom raised the gas price to the European level of $230 per 1,000 cubic meters.
Russia and Ukraine failed to reach agreement on gas prices before January 1, 2006.
