Ukrainian troops hit separatists in southern port

Ukraine's interior minister said government troops have attacked militia forces in the southern port of Mariupol.

Arsen Avakov said on Friday that four government troops were wounded as forces retook buildings occupied by the rebels in the center of the town. He said troops destroyed a light armored vehicle used by militia forces.

The renewed fighting comes as rebel leaders confirmed they have three tanks. Ukrainian officials have said the tanks crossed from the Russian side of the porous border and were attacked by Ukrainian troops, but there has been no independent confirmation the tanks came from Russia.

Rebel leader Denis Pushilin told Russian state television that the separatists, who call themselves the Donetsk People's Republic, have the tanks. He said it was "improper to ask" where they had gotten them.

In another development, Kiev said on Friday it was ready to pay a compromise price for Russian natural gas for 18 months to avert the threat of Moscow cutting off supplies and allow time to reach a long-term pricing agreement.

Andriy Kobolev, chief executive of Ukrainian state gas company Naftogaz, said the price of $326 per 1,000 cubic meters - higher than what Kiev wants to pay and lower than what Russia demands - was proposed by the European Commission during talks.

In talks that are made even more difficult by the conflict in Ukraine, in which Kiev accuses Moscow of backing a separatist rebellion in eastern regions, Russia has threatened to cut off supplies to Ukraine if it fails to start paying off billions of dollars in debts by Monday.

The Russian Energy Ministry has ruled out holding any more talks with Kiev and the EU before the Monday deadline.

"In our opinion the European Commission has proposed a compromise that is not bad," Kobolev said, suggesting that Kiev should pay this price for an 18-month interim period.

"Ukraine will be ready under such a compromise to pay its unpaid bills from the past," he said.

But adding that he had received offers from European companies to deliver gas at a lower price, he said: "Even so, we believe it is still rather high."

AP-Reuters

(China Daily 06/14/2014 page8)