Ukraine not happy about Russian gas quotas

KIEV, Ukraine, March 15 (UPI) -- Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko said his country's agreement with Gazprom gives the Russian gas monopoly too high a quota for direct sales.

The agreement guarantees Gazprom minimum annual gas sales in Ukraine of 7.5 billion cubic meters, RIA Novosti reported. Yushchenko had sought the same figure as the upper limit for annual sales, his press secretary, Irina Vannikova, said.

Premier Yulia Tymoshenko and Oleh Dubyna, chief executive officer of the state-owned Ukraine energy company Naftogaz, met with Yushchenko to discuss details of the agreement reached Thursday, the news agency reported.

Under the agreement, Gazprom will sell Ukraine 49.8 billion cubic meters of gas, at a fixed price of $179.50 per 1,000 cubic meters from March to December.