Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement on...

The agreement was signed by the ministers of economy of both countries following a meeting between Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Mykola Azarov.

The decision to sign the agreement follows a landmark deal ratified by the parliaments of Ukraine and Russia on Tuesday on extending the lease on a Russian naval base in the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol for 25 years after the current lease expires in 2017 in return for a 30% discount on Russian natural gas for Ukraine.

Russia halted from April 1 the imports of Ukrainian steel pipes duty free over the failure of the two ex-Soviet republics to agree on a quota for the second quarter of 2010.

In February 2010, Russian steel pipe producers, accounting for over 70% of the domestic steel pipe market, requested the government to halt the duty-free imports of pipes from Ukraine starting from the second quarter.

Producers argued the Russian pipe market had narrowed considerably due

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