Ukraine will pay in full for its imports of natural gas, and also guarantees that Russian gas bound for Europe through Ukraine will be delivered, President Viktor Yushchenko told AFP Thursday.
"Ukraine will not consume gas for free. We are an honest client," Yushchenko said in an interview.
Yushchenko also said "we guarantee transit security" for Russian gas exports, most of which are sent to customers in Europe through pipelines that pass through Ukrainian territory.
"It is not in our interest to violate the transit or payment procedure," the Ukrainian president said.
Yushchenko spoke hours after Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine had not paid in full for its gas imports from Russia.
Putin warned Moscow would be forced to reduce supply if the bills were not paid or if gas passing through Ukraine was diverted.
Putin said that despite price increases in recent years, Ukraine was still paying only about half of international rates for Russian gas, and that the West has no grounds to demand that Russia continue selling gas to Ukraine at subsidized prices.