MOSCOW, December 15 (Sputnik) — The problem of gas transit through the territory of Ukraine remains, with only temporary solution applied, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Monday.
"The issue of gas transit through Ukraine – a problem far from being new – has not gone anywhere. Today, the gas issue is settled only temporarily," Medvedev said in his opinion piece in the Monday issue of Russia's Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper
According to the prime minister, Ukraine has to pay off $3.1 billion of its $5.3-billion debt to Russian gas exporter Gazprom in addition to buying extra gas for the winter.
Moscow introduced a prepayment system for gas deliveries to Ukraine in June over Kiev's massive accumulated debt. Under the new system, a "winter package" deal securing Russian gas deliveries to Ukraine up to next March was reached in late October. Last month, Ukrainian state energy company Naftogaz paid off $1.45 billion of its debt to Gazprom.
