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MOSCOW, January 19 (RIA Novosti) - Russian energy giant Gazprom and Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz signed on Monday a contract on Russian gas supplies to Ukraine for 2009-2019.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Moscow and Kiev had reached agreement on all issues of gas transit and supplies, adding that there would be no intermediaries in Russian-Ukrainian gas relations.
Putin said Gazprom had been ordered to restart full natural gas deliveries to Europe via Ukraine.
Russia suspended supplies to Ukraine on January 1 after the former Soviet neighbors failed to agree on debt and prices for 2009. A week later, Gazprom cut off gas deliveries to the European Union, saying Ukraine was stealing gas intended for EU consumers, an accusation Kiev denied.
Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Yulia Tymoshenko, agreed Sunday in Moscow on a gas price for Ukraine for 2009 and gas transit tariffs. The deal would see Kiev paying 20% less than the European market
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