Ukraine, Russia to reach compromise on new gas contracts

Ukraine and Russia are about to reach a compromise on revising their gas supply contracts in the next few days, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said Wednesday. Azarov told reporters in the Russian city of St. Petersburg that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had also confirmed with him the news on Tuesday. "The negotiations that have been held at the presidential level and at the level of heads of the fuel and energy companies show that - and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin confirmed this yesterday - the negotiations are approaching the completion and we could reach compromise solutions within the next few days," Azarov was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying. However, Azarov didn't reveal the detail of the new contract, saying that the two parties have agreed not to publish details before the completion of their negotiations. "When we reach a final agreement, then we will give all details of this agreement," he said. The Ukrainian government has long urged Russia to review the existing gas pricing formula, but the two sides have not reached consensus on the issue so far.