Putin explains assistance to Ukraine by difficult situation in brotherly country

The substantial economic assistance that Russia should provide to Ukraine in line with the Tuesday agreements between the two countries has been dictated primarily by the fact that Ukraine has found itself in a difficult financial and political situation, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"I'll tell you without any sarcasm: we often hear phrases like 'brotherly country' or 'brotherly nation', and we see today that Ukraine is in a difficult situation economically, socially, and politically," Putin said at a press conference on Thursday.

"The situation has been prompted by a number of circumstances and reasons, but this situation is objective. And if we really say that this is a brotherly nation and a brotherly country, we should act as close relatives and support the Ukrainian nation in this difficult situation," he said.

"Let me assure you that this is the main reason for which we have made this decision," he said.

Putin had announced at a Russian-Ukrainian interstate commission session on December 17 that Russia would invest $15 billion from the National Welfare Fund reserves in Ukrainian government securities. It was also reported earlier that Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukrainy representatives had signed an addendum to the January 19, 2009 contract on the sale and purchase, supplies, volumes, and conditions of transit of natural gas for 2009-2019. Putin said later at a press conference in commenting on the agreement that the document would entitle Gazprom to sell gas to Ukraine at $268.5 per 1,000 cubic meters, while now the price is $400.

Speaking at the Thursday press conference, Putin reiterated that Russia decided to extend financial assistance to Ukraine and reduce the price for gas for the sake of the Ukrainian people rather than its leaders.

"We have made our decisions, on the one hand, in view of our special relations with Ukraine and - I'd like to repeat it once again - not in the interests of a particular leadership but precisely in the interests of the Ukrainian people," he said.

This was done out of pragmatic considerations, and "this is not the first decision of the kind," he said.

Gazprom earlier signed supplements to the gas contract on deferring the deadlines for payments twice, "first to October, then to November, and now we have deferred the payments once again," Putin said.

"We do understand that there are difficulties with the ability to pay, so why kill our principal partner? Therefore, this is a pragmatic decision, and it is temporary in nature, as this is a supplement," he said.

"We expect to be able to find some long-term decisions that would enable us to preserve this price and would enable us to work closer together with each other," he said.