RUSSIA, UKRAINE PRESIDENTS BEGIN THEIR NINTH MEETING THIS YEAR
The presidents are meeting for the ninth time this year.
The last meeting of Putin and Kuchma was held at the Unified Economic Space (UES) ‘Quartet’ summit in Yalta less than a month ago.
The two leaders’ talks will focus mainly on bilateral economic interaction issues, establishment of the Unified Economic Space and development of agreements on the setting up of a joint gas transportation consortium.
After the Yalta summit Russia removed one of the main obstacles on the way to establishment of the UES – the regime of exemptions on levying of the value-added tax (VAT) in the country of destination.
At a meeting with Ukrainian businesspeople in Yalta Vladimir Putin had promised to “instruct the government to take a look on the formation of oil prices for its part,” and by August 5 the State Duma lower house of parliament adopted simultaneously in three readings the government-submitted law stipulating a zero VAT rate for exports of oil, gas condensate and natural gas to CIS member states.
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