New Ukrainian Prime Minister, Nikolai Azarov, is in Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin over gas prices, gas transit, and trade and tariffs.
The newly elected President in Kiev, Viktor Yanukovich, has said he wants a range of bilateral agreements to be ready for signing when President Medvedev visits in mid-May. Yanukovich claims current prices are too much of a burden for his country.
But even with this newfound goodwill, renegotiating the long-term contracts from January 2009 could prove difficult.A first attempt by Ukraine's new government to secure lower Russian gas prices ended without any visible success earlier this week.
Business RT spoke with Vitaly Ermakov of CERA about what Ukraine may offer in order to make Gazprom change its mind, what the implications of greater Russian control over Ukraine’s pipeline system may be, and how interested Gazprom may be in gaining greater access to Ukraine’s domestic market.