KIEV, Sept. 26 – Prices for natural gas supplied to Russia from Ukraine will rise to more than $400 per 1,000 cubic meters from January 1, 2009, Russian Former Fuel and Energy Minister Borys Nemtsov said at a press conference in Kiev on Friday.

"Don't want to upset you, but unfortunately the price will increase to more than $400 per 1,000 cubic meters," he said.

Nemtsov noted that Russia's Gazprom had bought "Turkmen and Uzbek natural gas" to be supplied to Ukraine "at astronomical prices – up to $300 per 1,000 cubic meters."