MOSCOW, October 30 (RIA Novosti) — Kiev is prepared to pay its first tranche of $1.45 billion on delivered Russian gas in the near future and a second payment of $1.65 billion by the end of the year, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Thursday.
"The first tranche of payment for gas that was delivered in the past, that is $1.45 billion, will be paid as soon as the protocol is signed, and the remaining $1.65 billion will be paid by the end of the year," Yatsenyuk said during a government meeting.
According to the minister, the country will pay Russia $378 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas in the fourth quarter of 2014 and $365 for the same amount in the first quarter of 2015.
"We have just come to the position, where the [gas] price is defined using a formula that is in the contract and that formula is influenced by the price of oil, the price of which has fallen significantly," he said.
Yatsenyuk stated that Ukraine has reached an agreement with the European Commission under which the latter will serve as a guarantor of Russia fulfilling its gas price obligations.
"If Russia violates the pricing procedure and decides to establish a price of $500 [per 1,000 cubic meters], as initially proposed, the European Commission, as we have agreed, will act as the guarantor of Russia's fulfillment of the price obligations, including through the mechanism of price hike compensation, if such a [higher] price is not in line with the trilateral agreement signed between the European Commission, Ukraine and Russia," the minister said.
Ukraine currently receives gas only through reverse flows, as Russian energy giant Gazprom switched the country to a prepayment system for gas supplies in June over its debt of more than $5 billion.
In September, Russia and the European Commission proposed the so-called winter package, according to which Ukraine should pay $3.1 billion of its debt to Russia by the end of the year in exchange for gas deliveries during the winter period.
On Wednesday, Russia, Ukraine and the European Union met in Brussels for another round of gas talks but failed so far to reach any breakthrough agreements. The talks are expected to continue on Thursday evening.
