MOSCOW, March 5 (UPI) -- Ensuring reliable gas transits to European consumers forms the foundation of Ukrainian ties to Russia, the Ukrainian president said Friday in Moscow.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych arrived Friday in Moscow to meet with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev. Yanukovych said he would pursue a "sharp turn" in bilateral relations, which he said were damaged by the previous administration, Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency reports.
The Ukrainian leader said he would pursue lower gas prices from Russia in exchange for a gas transit consortium consisting of Ukraine, Moscow and European member states.
"We shall definitely consider traditional issues in relations between Ukraine and Russia, including gas supplies to Ukraine, gas transit to Europe and the reliability of the (transit) system," Yanukovych added.
Moscow cut gas supplies to Ukraine briefly in 2009 following a bitter row over debt. Around 80 percent of the Russian gas bound for Europe runs through Soviet-era pipelines in Ukraine currently.
The European Union warned Kiev that "urgent progress" in the modernization of its gas sector. Ukrainian leaders have said the gas relationship with Moscow was "discriminatory."
The Kremlin, ITAR-Tass said, "insists on the necessity of strict fulfillment of existing agreements" for gas transits to Europe.
