Azarov: 'Sooner or later we will buy nothing from Russia at a price similar to gas price'

Russia risks losing Ukraine as its largest buyer of natural gas, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has said.

"In our talks with our Russian partners we are telling them directly: 'You are getting a temporary benefit from the treacherous agreement that was signed [in 2009]. This is a temporary benefit, because you are losing the largest buyer of your gas. Sooner or later the time will come when we won't buy anything from you at such a price,'" he said at a meeting with representatives of the Dnipropetrovsk regional associations of local government agencies in Kryvy Rih on Thursday.

"Why are you putting us in a difficult position and getting these temporary benefits? Why are you making us bear enormous costs for the exploration and production of our own oil and gas fields and the transition to energy-saving technology? This, of course, is a long overdue event, but it was possible to shift it in time and not to concentrate resources on it now. Of course, we will resolve this problem sooner or later," Azarov said.