Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said Tuesday he believed the natural gas price that was recently negotiated by Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko was a "failure" for Ukraine, news agency Prime-Tass reported Tuesday.
He said, however, that Ukraine would have to accept that price.
Yushchenko also said he believed that Timoshenko's estimation of the average gas price for Ukraine at $228 per 1,000 cubic meters for the whole of 2009 was incorrect.
Timoshenko's estimate differed from that announced by Alexander Medvedev, deputy CEO of Russian natural gas giant OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS), earlier on Tuesday. He said the price might average a bit less than $250 per 1,000 cubic meters for the whole of 2009.
Under a recent Russian-Ukrainian deal, Gazprom's gas price for Ukraine will be pegged at a 20% discount to European gas prices. The price for Ukraine will amount to $360 per 1,000 cubic meters in the first quarter and is expected to fall later this year if European gas prices decline.
Meanwhile, Timoshenko also said Tuesday that Ukraine intended to minimize gas purchases from Gazprom in the first quarter due to the high price.