"They have repeatedly warned us that our currency will collapse, that we will have no funds to pay salaries and that our economy will not sustain the high price of gas. But this year we pay USD 440 per thousand cubic meters, taking into account the Kharkiv discount. We have survived, and at the end of the year we have GDP growth of 5.3% - one of the highest figures in Europe. GDP growth in Russia is lower and that in Poland is also lower," Azarov said, UKRINFORM reported.
He also said he was convinced of the sustainable development of the Ukrainian economy with the gas price of over USD 400 per thousand cubic meters in 2012.
"The situation in our country is now pretty stable, and we have a firm position in our negotiations with Russia. So I said if the price is 416 dollars, we will pay it," he said.
Azarov recalled that for one-and-a-half years, the Ukrainian authorities had been in talks with Russia on the revision of gas contracts of 2009. Azarov said he was sure that the contracts would be reviewed sooner or later, and Ukraine will receive an acceptable and fair gas price.
