KIEV, Dec. 21 - Ukraine is ready to purchase gas from Russia in Q1 2016 only if prices are reduced to under $200 per 1,000 cubic meters, Energy and Coal Industry Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn said.

"Russians don't understand that in order to be competitive they need to lower the price to less than $200, and this does not even include discounts, this is just the market environment," he told reporters in Kiev on Monday.