OREANDA-NEWS. On January 15, 2009 Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko called upon local authorities to urgently pay for consumed gas. She disclosed this during her meeting with governors and mayors of regional centers on issues of opposing the global financial crisis.

“You may search for reserves, search for opportunities, construct special crediting systems but pay for gas. Because if we fail to pay for gas – there will be no independence of Ukraine. And every head of regional state administration who fails to pay for gas, maintains political dependence of Ukraine,” the Head of Government stressed.

Yulia Tymoshenko noted that regions owe fantastic sums for the current gas consumption – totally above UAH 5 billion. At the same time she reminded that Government had timely paid to Russia for the consumed gas, “We have paid Russia penny for penny. How do you think, seem this money to be materialized from the air?”

Yulia Tymoshenko also focused attention on the fact that city of Kyiv owes the Kyivenergo almost one billion hryvnias for natural gas. “Can we be told from what air this money should be materialized? May be it comes out of the blue to pay Russia?” she stressed.