“The gas contract signed three years ago, is very disadvantageous for Ukraine", said President of Ukraine Victor Yanukovych in the interview to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung. According to him, the price of gas "in the long run threaten the national security of Ukraine. It worsens the situation of our producers in international markets".
Yanukovych also said that Ukraine's gas transport system needs to be upgraded and added that experts estimate the costs of modernization to 5-7 million dollars for the period from 5 to 7 years. A kind of repair for the system is a "three-party consortium, which takes into account the interests of both Russia and the EU member states". Within the consortium, in his words, Russia and the EU should have 33%, Ukraine - 34%. This system would be transparent, says President.
In addition, Viktor Yanukovych stressed that the negotiations to lease the pipeline system of Ukraine never took place. On the contrary, Ukraine is interested in how not to lose the position of the transit country, since the revenues from transit are a part of the state budget.
In response to a question about the ban on imports of certain Ukrainian products to Russia, Viktor Yanukovych noted that "trade is on, and the total volume, according to latest figures, is over 50 billion dollars per a year. But now there is indeed a conflict of interest between producers and exporters. There is competition"
