If Moscow and Kyiv agree on “joint honest work,” Russia could offer a price of gas for industrial consumers in Ukraine with a 25% discount, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a press conference after the Normandy Four summit in Paris, TASS reports.
“There is a well-known children’s rhyme — ‘We have gas in our apartment. How about you?’ You have it as well, but it can be much cheaper if we agree on joint honest work. It may be 25% cheaper than what it costs final consumers now. First of all, industrial consumers because gas prices for regular consumers, for citizens, are subsidized, and we can calculate the price based on the subsidized amount. This is simple economic logic,” Putin said.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said in turn that the issue of transit of Russian gas via Ukraine was unblocked at talks with Putin.
Ukraine and Russia have been holding negotiations on a new gas transit deal to replace a 10-year agreement that expires at the end of this year. Moscow said last week the transit tariffs proposed by Kyiv were too high.
The leaders of the Normandy Four countries — Germany, France, Russia, and Ukraine — declared progress Monday following the meeting in Paris.
According to Zelensky, the two most difficult questions in his bilateral negotiations with Putin were the renewal of Russian gas transit via Ukraine and holding local elections in eastern Ukrainian territory.
