Russia to invest $15bln in Ukrainian bonds, lower gas price 33% - Putin
2013-12-18 10:43:18
Russia and Ukraine have signed an action plan to settle restrictions in bilateral trade for 2013-2014. Russia would convert $15 billion worth of its National Welfare Fund - a rainy day fund - into Ukrainian securities to help it stave off financial crisis. Russia's Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukraine have signed an amendment that allows Gazprom - which it intends to do - to sell gas to Ukraine at $268.50 for 1,000 cubic metres, President Vladimir Putin said.
"The Russian government has made the decision to invest part of the National Welfare fund, to the sum of $15 billion, in Ukrainian government securities," Putin told reporters.
Russian gas giant Gazprom (MOEX: GAZP) and Ukraine's national oil and gas company Naftogaz Ukrainy signed an addition to the contract concerning the purchase of Russian gas, its delivery, amount, and transit terms of January 19, 2009 on Tuesday, with the two countries' presidents on hand, an Interfax correspondent reported from the signing ceremony.
The particulars of the document are not yet available.
Over the four years of the contract's life, 28 additions have already been signed, almost every month and a half. The announced additions were associated with the payment schedule and forex payment for gas deliveries.
"As you have seen, Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukraine have signed an amendment that allows Gazprom - which it intends to do - to sell gas to Ukraine at a price of $268.50 for 1,000 cubic metres. As you know, the current price is around $400," Putin said after Kremlin talks with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.
Russia, Ukraine sign action plan to settle bilateral trade restrictions for 2013-2014
Russia and Ukraine have signed an action plan to settle restrictions in bilateral trade for 2013-2014.
The document has been signed by the Russian and Ukrainian economy ministers based on the outcomes of the 6th session of the Russian-Ukrainian interstate commission in Moscow on Tuesday.
The two industry ministers also signed an agreement between the Russian and Ukrainian governments on government support for resuming the serial production of Antonov An-124 planes with various versions of the D-18T engines.
The Russian and Ukrainian governments also signed a protocol on shipments of goods under an industrial cooperation program in 2014 and an agreement on the joint organization of the construction of a transport link through the Kerch Strait.
Russia to invest $15 billion in Ukrainian government securities - Putin
Russia would convert $15 billion worth of its National Welfare Fund - a rainy day fund - into Ukrainian securities to help it stave off a financial crisis, Russia's President Vladimir Putin said after talks with Ukraine's president.
"The Russian government made a decision to invest part of the National Welfare fund to the amount of $15 billion in Ukrainian government securities," Putin told reporters.
But Putin added that he and President Viktor Yanukovych had not discussed the idea of Kiev joining a Kremlin-led free trade bloc. "I would like to calm everyone down, today we have not discussed the issue of Ukraine joining the Customs Union at all," he added.
Ukraine, Russia should resume cooperation in various industries - Yanukovych
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has called for Ukraine and Russia to resume cooperation in aircraft building, shipbuilding, nuclear and other projects.
Speaking at a meeting of the Russian-Ukrainian Interstate Commission on Tuesday, he called for finishing the construction of Generating Units 3 and 4 at the Khmelnytsky nuclear power plant and said "a minor amount of work remains to be done" to finish the development of the Antonov An-70 airplane before An-70's can be built on a regular basis.
He also said Russia and Ukraine "are ready to sign important documents" to simplify formalities for crossing the border between them.
He said, furthermore, that "the removal of trade barriers and signing an agreement on pipelines and on the cancellation of transportation duties" would be the Ukraine's main achievement during its upcoming presidency of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Gazprom lowers gas price for Ukraine 33% to $268.5 per 1,000 cubic metres – Putin
Russian gas giant Gazprom (MOEX: GAZP) and Ukraine's national oil and gas company Naftogaz Ukrainy signed an additional to the contract concerning the purchase of Russian gas, its delivery, amount, and transit terms of January 19, 2009 on Tuesday, with the two countries' presidents on hand, an Interfax correspondent reported from the signing ceremony.
The particulars of the document are not yet available.
Over the four years of the contract's life, 28 additions have already been signed - almost every month and a half. The announced additions were associated with the payment schedule and forex payment for gas deliveries.
"As you have seen, Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukraine have signed an amendment that allows Gazprom - which it intends to do - to sell gas to Ukraine at a price of $268.50 for 1,000 cubic metres. As you know, that price now is around $400," Putin said after Kremlin talks with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.
Russian-Ukrainian action plan aimed at normalizing bilateral trade - Putin
An action plan aimed at settling restrictions in trade between Russia and Ukraine is designed to normalize the volume of trade between the two countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. The document has been signed by the Russian and Ukrainian economy ministers based on the outcomes of the 6th session of the Russian-Ukrainian interstate commission in Moscow on Tuesday.
"This is what the plan for settling trade restrictions is aimed at, and it should be endorsed based on the outcomes of today's meeting," Putin said at a session of the Russian-Ukrainian interstate consultations in Moscow on Tuesday.
Trade between Russia and Ukraine dropped to $45 billion in 2012 and by another 15% in the first nine months of 2013, he said.
Russia remains Ukraine's main economic partner and accounts for 30% of Ukraine's trade balance, Putin said.
"True, there are also problems, and we also talked about this today. What is alarming is that there has been a downward trend in our trade in the past two years. Trade turnover went down by 11% to $45 billion in 2012," he said.
The interstate consultations are taking place at the right time, so that the two parties could "look what needs to be done in order to reverse this negative trend and not only reach the previous benchmarks but also provide conditions for moving ahead," Putin said.
Putin also mentioned cooperation between the two countries in the grain sector; in particular, he said the Russian-Ukrainian-Kazakh grain pool is about to start operating.
The Russian leader also mentioned humanitarian cooperation between Russia and Ukraine. "We will celebrate the 200th anniversary of [the poet] Taras Shevchenko and an anniversary of Sevastopol's liberation from the Nazi invaders next year," he said.
Putin says he did not discuss Ukraine's accession to Customs Union with Yanukovych
The Russian government's decision to invest part of its National Welfare Fund reserves in Ukrainian securities has not been conditioned by anything, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"This is not tied to any preconditions, nor the increasing, or reducing, or freezing of any social standards, pensions, allowances, or costs. And I'd like to calm everyone down that we didn't even discuss Ukraine's accession to the Customs Union today," Putin said following Russian-Ukrainian interstate commission consultations in Moscow on Tuesday.