Russia refuses to review gas deal with Ukraine

Russia is insisting on sticking to its current gas supply agreement with Ukraine, the head of Russian gas giant Gazprom Alexei Miller said on Wednesday, despite repeated calls for its review by Kiev which considers the deal unfair. After failing to get a discount from Moscow, Ukraine has sought to cut the volume of its imports of gas which were originally agreed at 52 billion cubic metres (bcm) a year under a 2009 agreement. But Miller said Gazprom was against that. "We are working strictly in line with the contract, strictly in line with this volume," Miller told reporters after a Russian government delegation led by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev held talks with the Ukrainian government in Kiev.