KIEV, March 25 - Ukraine will continue to pay lower gas prices to Russia in April even if Moscow moves to cancel its earlier agreed price discount, Energy and Coal Industry Minister Yuriy Prodan said Tuesday.

Ukraine enjoyed the $100/1,000 cubic meters discount on Russian gas since April 2010 after it had agreed to extend the stay of the Russian navy in the Crimean port of Sevastopol by 25 years through 2042.

But Russia now wants to cancel that agreement following the de-facto annexation of Crimea and the port of Sevastopol last week.