OREANDA-NEWS. November 30, 2010. Ukraine agreed to cut transportation rates for Russian crude at its ports by 50 percent and increase oil imports under an agreement signed after talks between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Ukrainian counterpart, Viktor Yanukovych.

Russia will ship 18.5 million metric tons of oil a year to Ukraine for processing at refineries and further export, Mikhail Zurabov, the Russian ambassador to the country, told reporters today near Moscow. The amount exported further will depend on how much Ukraine uses, he said.

Medvedev and Yanukovych also discussed gas prices. The Russian president said the two countries need to “find such compromises” on energy issues that will allow their economies to develop.