MOSCOW, May 12 (RIA Novosti) – Discussing any compromises with Kiev over gas issues will only be possible after Ukraine pays its outstanding debt for Russian gas deliveries, Deputy Russian Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky said Monday.
“To discuss any compromise, [Ukraine] needs to pay the debt," Yanovsky told journalists at a RIA Novosti press conference Monday.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak announced on May 8 the switch to advance payments for gas supplies to Ukraine starting in June. He noted that the May 7 deadline, when Ukraine’s state-run gas company Naftogaz was expected to transfer payments for April deliveries, had expired. Notably, Naftogaz has not transferred a single gas payment since March this year, with Ukraine’s total gas debt reaching $3.5 billion.
Yanovsky said Gazprom was forced to introduce prepayment for gas supplies to Ukraine in this situation.
“Switching to prepayment is not a possibility but a responsibility for Gazprom,” Yanovsky said.
On April 1, the price of Russian gas for Ukraine rose to $485 per thousand cubic meters from $268.50, as Russia withdrew two major discounts.
In December, Russia offered Ukraine a 25 percent discount on natural gas, a deal that was cancelled because of Kiev’s overdue gas bills. Another $100 discount per thousand cubic meters of gas was granted in return for the right to use the Sevastopol port in Crimea to host the Black Sea Fleet, annulled shortly after Crimea became a part of Russia in late March.
Ukraine refuses to recognize the new $485 gas price, although the sum is fully in line with the contract that the two states signed in 2009.
