Russia dismisses Ukraine response in gas talks

Reuters

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has not received an "appropriate" response from Ukraine to its proposals in talks on a gas pricing dispute, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman was quoted as saying on Friday. Russia has offered to remove an export duty, cutting the price Kiev pays for its natural gas to $385 per 1,000 cubic meters. Ukraine says it is ready for a compromise, but has said it is ready to pay only $326 for a limited period. Russia has set a June 16 deadline for Ukraine to pay $1.95 billion of its gas debts and threatened to cut off supplies if it receives no payment. Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying he was not aware of any plans for new talks before then. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin, Editing by Timothy Heritage)