Medvedev says Ukraine must pay its Gazprom debt

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says Ukraine must pay its multibillion dollar debt to Russia's state-owned gas monopoly OAO Gazprom.

In remarks televised Thursday, Medvedev ordered Gazprom to collect the $2.4 billion (euro1.9 billion) debt payment and decide the price Ukraine must pay for natural gas in 2009.

Gazprom said earlier that Ukraine's current price of $180 per 1,000 cubic meters could reach $400 next year.

RIA-Novosti news agency reported that Ukraine's natural gas company Naftogaz denied being in debt to Gazprom and said it owes $1.3 billion (euro1 billion) to an intermediary company that is half-owned by Gazprom.

Russia's disputes with Ukraine over gas prices have led Moscow to cut off or reduce supplies, actions that affected natural gas customers in Western Europe too.