December 05, 2007	Wednesday	Ziqa'ad 24, 1428

MOSCOW, Dec 4: Ukraine has agreed to raise payments for Russian gas by 38 per cent in 2008, Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom said on Tuesday in a deal likely to remove the threat of supply disruptions to Europe.

Gazprom, which supplies a quarter of Europe’s gas, said in a statement the deal had been reached at a meeting with Ukraine’s Energy Minister Yuri Boiko and the price of gas would rise to $179.5 per 1,000 cubic metres from $130 this year.

Under the deal signed last week, Gazprom would pay $130 per 1,000 cubic metres of Turkmen gas in the first half of 2008, up from $100 in 2007, and $150 in the second half of 2008.

—Reuters