KIEV, Ukraine, June 28 (UPI) -- Ukrainian Fuel and Energy Minister Ivan Plachkov said Tuesday there is no need to revise Ukraine's gas deal with Russia.
Plachkov said with current gas prices at $95 per 1,000 cubic meters -- the lowest price of supplied gas in Europe -- there is no need to revise Ukraine's Jan. 4 gas agreement with Russian gas giant Gazprom, Ukrainian TV Channel 5 reported.
The Ukrainian government has acquired an energy debt because citizens have been unable to pay their gas bills.
Plachkov said contracts with Turkmenistan would enable Ukraine to repay its remaining debt of $60 million by September.
He promised that the country would have enough gas during the winter months. In order to aid the poor, citizens will be compensated for the utility price increases initiated by the government.
"A responsible and courageous government alone could take a decision of this kind, thinking not only about the present but also about the future," Plachkov said.
