Putin says Ukraine has no right to demand gas price discount

ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Ukraine had no right to demand cuts in the price it pays for natural gas supplies from Russia and said the price dispute should be solved through dialogue and not ultimatums. "We are ready for a constructive dialogue, but it should not be carried out though baseless demands and ultimatums, but rather on the basis of civilized market cooperation," Putin told a group of foreign journalists on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. (Reporting by Reporting by Paul Ingrassia and Alexei Anishchuk; Writing by Vladimir Soldatkin)