Ukraine signed new agreement for purchase of gas in Russia: the price will be $248

Ukraine has signed a new agreement for the purchase of gas in Russia in the second quarter of 2015.

According to the agreement, the price of gas will be $248 per 1,000 cubic meters, the other conditions are the same as the ones of the so-called winter package, Censor.NET reports citing the press service of the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine.

"It's a victory of the economically sound approach to the relationship between Naftogaz and Gazprom over the political one," the Minister of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine Volodymyr Demchyshyn said, commenting on the signing of the agreement.

"We have received an economically justifiable market price, which is lower than the price of the reverse gas from the European countries. This interim agreement covers only the second quarter. However, it will not only allow us to begin to accumulate gas for the autumn-winter period but also lay the format of relations in the future. After all, the talks on the long-term agreement for the period until the end of the 2015-2016 heating season are planned to be held in Berlin in April, and we expect to agree to keep the same formula to determine the price," he said.