Ukrainian News reported Ms Yulia Tymoshenko Prime Minister of Ukraine has denied one more time again statements that Russia might imposes penal sanctions against Ukraine for importing less natural gas than provided by the gas contracts between Naftohaz Ukrainy national oil and gas company and Russia Gazprom gas monopoly.

Ms Yulia Tymoshenko said this at a news briefing in Severodonetsk in Luhansk region.

She said that "There is positive agreement with Russian Prime Minister Mr Vladimir Putin that we will sign an act concerning natural gas supplies to Ukraine in 2009 and that the act will fix the volumes of natural gas we received in reality and there would be absolutely no penal sanctions. This was a positive agreement with the Russian prime minister and he has not let me down when we arrived at agreement and I try to keep my word."

She added that the speculations on the matter represent a desire of certain structure to return to the corruptive schemes in the natural gas supplies. She also said there would be no return to such schemes.

Ms Yulia Tymoshenko said "I absolutely acknowledge that all corruption machines in the system of natural gas supplies to Ukraine are in a rage today and they want to defame all we have done in the matter. She said that the Ukrainian government did not raise the natural gas rates for the households in 2008 and 2009.”

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, President Mr Viktor Yuschenko is afraid that Russia's Gazprom gas monopoly can claim fines against the Naftohaz Ukrainy national oil and Gas Company worth USD 8.7 billion for Ukraine's importing less natural gas than provided by their contracts in 2009.

(Sourced from Ukrainian New)