AGREEMENT REACHED ON GAS SUPPLIES TO UKRAINE.

According to an agreement signed on December 4, Russia’s Gazprom will deliver to Ukraine 53 billion cubic meters of gas next year at a price of $80 per 1000 cubic meters. The agreement also determined the conditions under which Russian gas will transit Ukrainian territory to Europe. In 1997 such deliveries will amount to 120 billion cubic meters. The diversification of its energy suppliers, reducing dependence on Russia, is a central concern for Ukrainian leaders. Reporting on the results of a meeting last week with Uzbek president Islam Karimov, Ukrainian prime minister Pavel Lazarenko declared on December 6 that gas from Uzbekistan might serve as a useful alternative to supplies from Russia. Deliveries of gas from Uzbekistan will amount to 6 billion cubic meters in 1997. The agreement with Gazprom guarantees transport of Uzbek gas and of 19 billion cubic meters from Turkmenistan. It is expected that the role of Uzbekistan as a gas supplier to Ukraine will be increased when an agreement is reached resolving outstanding Ukrainian debts to Uzbekistan for past deliveries. (Interfax, December 6)

Kazakhstan’s Leftists Protest Against Reforms.