MOSCOW, May 3 (UPI) -- A zero duty for supplies of Russian gas for Ukraine applies to volumes of up to 1.1 trillion cubic feet for 2010, the Russian prime minister said.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin signed a decree that resets the export duty on Russian natural gas for Ukraine to zero for volumes of 1.1 trillion cubic feet in 2010. That volume increases to 1.4 trillion cubic feet from 2011-19, Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti reports.
"This decree applies to legal relations arising from 1 April 2010," the decree states.
The Ukrainian government of Viktor Yanukovych has pressed the Kremlin for better gas terms since coming to power in February. A deal signed between both governments April 21 gives Kiev a 30 percent discount for gas prices. In turn, Russia gets a renewed lease for its naval port in Crimea for the next 25 years.
Despite an outbreak of skirmishes in the Ukrainian parliament, the deal was ratified by both countries Wednesday.
