October 08, 2006	Sunday	Ramazan 14, 1427

KIEV, Oct 7: Ukraine will stop purchasing Russian natural gas beginning next year, instead opting for cheaper gas from Central Asian states, an energy official said on Saturday.

Ukraine currently pays $95 per 1,000 cubic meters of a mix of more expensive Russian gas and cheaper Turkmen imports which it receives through an intermediary company.

In order to avoid an anticipated major price hike from Russia next year, Ukraine has agreed to buy the needed 57.5bn cubic meters of gas from Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan for the same price it is currently paying, said Dmytro Marunich, spokesman for Ukraine's state-owned gas company Naftogaz.—AP