Ukraine presidential candidate wants to sue Gazprom for gas deal

MOSCOW, Apr 4 (PRIME) -- Ukraine’s presidential candidate Pyotr Poroshenko, who is leading in the run up to the elections, has suggested going to the Stockholm court to contest a 2009 deal with Gazprom under which Kiev is to pay U.S.$485 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas unless Russia agrees to change the terms, RIA Novosti reported Friday.

“The terms of the 2009 deal do not meet the European market reality,” he said.

The 2009 contract signed by the then President Yuliya Tymoshenko was a year later amended with a discount for the deployment of the Russian fleet in Crimea. Russia provided further discounts last December.

Gazprom has recently cancelled both discounts as Russia’s relations with Ukraine became increasingly tense after the annexation of Crimea.

Ukraine has long wanted to change the contract saying the price was too high.

End