Will the DPR pay Gazprom with Donetsk coal?
Ukraine still does not want to pay for Russian gas supplied to the DPR, and the Donetsk Republic declares that it is ready to pay for it itself. However, the republic consumes almost $2,5 million worth of gas per day, and, according to experts, it is not able to pay for such volumes. The only option is barter deals to exchange gas for Donbass coal.
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The DPR's readiness to pay for gas was announced on Thursday by the republic's plenipotentiary representative in the contact group, Denis Pushilin. “Enterprises are opening, taxes are being received,” explained the plenipotentiary representative of the Donetsk Republic.
Russia began supplying gas to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in February 2015 after Kyiv cut off supplies. The head of the Russian Ministry of Energy, Alexander Novak, said last week that Russia continues supplies to the southeast of Ukraine, the daily volume is 10 million cubic meters. Taking into account the price (gas to Donbass goes at the Ukrainian price, which since the second quarter has been $247,18 per 1 thousand cubic meters), daily supply of Donbass costs Russia approximately $2,47 million. Gazeta.Ru recalls that on Wednesday, the head of Gazprom, Alexey Miller, announced the feasibility of “a separate direct contract from Gazprom for gas supplies to the southeast.”
However, it is not very clear where the DPR will be able to get almost $2,5 million a day to pay for gas. “It is obvious that the republic is not able to pay with real money - the DPR is now preparing more for the continuation of hostilities than for economic restoration,” says the head of the National Economic Security Fund, Konstantin Simonov. “However, at least partially, the DPR can pay for gas through barter transactions, exchanging it for coal.”
HSE professor Nikolai Petrov considers Pushilin’s statements rather a political demarche. “This shows the increasing subjectivity of the Donetsk People’s Republic,” explains the political scientist. “The DPR is increasingly moving away from Ukraine, which does not want to pay for gas.”
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