The two countries' energy companies, Russia's Gazprom and Naftogaz of Ukraine, signed a gas supply and transit contract on January 19 following negotiations between Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Yulia Tymoshenko.
Under the terms of the new gas deal, Ukraine will pay Russia European market prices - set at $450 per 1,000 cu m for the first quarter - with a 20% discount in 2009 while transit fees fixed under a previous agreement have not been revised. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has repeatedly criticized the deal.
"The majority of Ukrainians think that the gas agreements with Russia are acceptable for Ukraine. According to the poll's results, 45.4% of respondents share the opinion, plus, 5.7% of respondents say the deal was a success for Ukraine," KIIS said in a report.
At the same time, 33.7% of respondents say they believe the gas deal was disadvantageous for Ukraine.
Yuschenko's failure to agree with Russia is seen by 42.2% of respondents as the main cause of the gas crisis, while 18.1% of those asked said Yulia Tymoshenko was to blame for the dispute.
Among other reasons for the gas crisis Ukrainians see Russia's aspirations to take control of Ukraine's gas transit system (28%), Russia's discontent with Ukraine's pro-Western policies (24.3%) and Russia's wish to demonstrate to Europe that Ukraine was an unreliable partner (19.5%).
The poll, based on a sample of 1,642 respondents, was conducted between January 29 and February 5 with a margin of error not exceeding 3.7%.
