Russia Extends Deadline For Ukraine To Reach Gas Deal
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Russia and Ukraine are set to resume talks today to resolve a dispute over natural gas prices, despite already missing a deadline for Kiev to pay off some its debts without Moscow cutting off supplies.
On Tuesday, eight hours of negotiations in Brussels failed to overcome differences over pricing, but Moscow agreed not to cut off gas to Kiev just yet, with further talks scheduled.
Russia and Ukraine are set to resume talks today to resolve a dispute over natural gas prices, despite already missing a deadline for Kiev to pay off some its debts without Moscow cutting off supplies.
On Tuesday, eight hours of negotiations in Brussels failed to overcome differences over pricing, but Moscow agreed not to cut off gas to Kiev just yet, with further talks scheduled.
According to Reuters, Russia had previously given Ukraine until 0600 GMT on Tuesday to pay back some billions of dollars it owed.
The EU’s energy chief Günther Oettinger will meet Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and his Ukrainian counterpart Yury Prodan today, the European Commission said.
Oettinger expressed hope that an agreement could be found in the next days.
On Tuesday, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak added that he had proposed “a very constructive plan, which we believe all stakeholders could and should accept”.
The EU has been acting as a go-between in the talks between Kiev and Moscow in the dispute, anxious to avert a situation that would cause Russia turn off the gas taps to Ukraine. The former Soviet republic is the main transit route for Russian gas imports to the 28-country bloc, which received 39 percent of its gas supply from Gazprom last year.
Related: Russia Set To Cut Off Ukraine’s Gas Supply Next Month
Related: Russia Raises Gas Price For Ukraine, Demanding $11 Billion In Back Payments
The dispute centres around a discount, which Russia had given the past pro-Moscow regime in Kiev.
Ukraine wants to change the 2009 contract that locked it into buying a set volume of gas, whether it needs it or not, at $485 per 1,000 cubic metres – the highest price paid by any customer in Europe.
Moscow dropped the price to $268.50 after Ukraine’s then-President Viktor Yanukovich turned his back on a trade and association agreement with the European Union last year, but reinstated the original price after he was ousted in February.
Analysts AFP spoke to predicted that the two sides will eventually agree to a new price of around $350 per thousand cubic metres of gas.
