Gazprom to waive fines for Naftogaz

Gazprom has agreed to waive fines on Naftogaz of Ukraine, which was obligated to pay under the January agreement between the two companies, even though it only purchased a third of planned supplies so far this year, Kommersant reported today. The new agreement was brokered yesterday during a meeting of Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow yesterday. In return, Ukraine will allow Russia to participate in the modernization and reconstruction of its gas transportation system; Tymoshenko said Russian ownership of the network was still off the table.