Rates for Russian gas transported through Ukraine to Europe will double next year. The move could raise more tension between the two nations and affect the flow of one-quarter of Europe's gas supply.
Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko announced Wednesday that the transit price of gas going from Russia to the European Union through Ukraine will be
doubled in January 2010.
Currently, the fee is 1.7 dollars per 1,000 cubic meters of gas per 100 kilometers. In September, Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz said that this rate would go up to between 2.7 and 2.8.
Last January, the two nations also butted heads over the cost of natural gas, which caused Russian gas supplies to be cut off from Europe for two weeks. On Thursday, Tymoshenko and Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet to discuss the countries' issues. Putin has said that a dispute in 2010 between Russia and Ukraine over gas prices could result in another disruption to the EU.
