MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia will consider giving Ukraine a discount on gas deliveries on a quarterly basis and not on a long-term plan, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.
"A discount will be offered quarterly because the price formula is calculated quarterly," Novak said.
Last summer, Russian gas company Gazprom switched Ukraine to a prepayment system for gas deliveries over Kiev's massive $5 billion gas debt.
In October 2014, a "winter package" deal for Russian gas deliveries to Ukraine was reached with mediation by the European Commission. The agreement stipulated gas supplies to Ukraine until the end of March with a $100-discount per 1,000 cubic meters of Russian gas.
Moscow decided on March 31 to extend the discount for the second quarter of 2015.
In March, Novak said that Ukraine's state-run energy company Naftogaz still owed Russia $2.4 billion for 2014 gas deliveries and nonpayment penalties.
