Gazprom has made a new move in the dispute with Ukraine over the terms of gas supplies
The Russian company Gazprom presented Naftogaz of Ukraine, which has not purchased Russian gas for a year, with a bill for $5,3 billion for non-supply of gas in 2016 under the take-or-pay condition, Kommersant reports.
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The publication notes that the invoice has been issued on the eve of the consideration of Gazprom's appeal against a $6,8 billion antitrust fine imposed on the company by the Ukrainian regulator.
“Taking into account the fact that Ukraine stopped purchasing Russian gas back in November 2015, this amount is the full cost of the minimum volume of raw materials under the 2009 contract. Naftogaz must pay the bill within ten days. In the first quarter of 2016, the take-or-pay condition was temporarily not in effect as part of the trilateral agreements with Brussels on the “winter package”. Gazprom is already seeking payment of fines in the Stockholm arbitration court for gas not selected in 2013 and 2014. If the monopoly files a claim under the new account, which is most likely, its overall claims against Naftogaz will increase to $37 billion,” the publication writes.
“Gazprom has recently reported an increase in the amount of take-or-pay claims in its reports after the fact,” the newspaper clarifies. – So the current public statement on the market is considered an attempt to put pressure on Kyiv. In particular, the monopoly is trying to get the Ukrainian court’s decision to overturn the decision that imposed a fine of $6,8 billion on Gazprom as part of an antitrust case. Today the Kiev Economic Court of Appeal is to consider Gazprom's complaint on this issue. At the same time, in December, Naftogaz expressed its readiness to return to purchasing Russian gas and wanted to sign the same “winter package” (with the abolition of the take-or-pay condition) as in previous years. However, Gazprom refused to sign such an agreement.”
At the same time, Kommersant does not rule out that Gazprom may change its position if Ukraine abandons the story of the antimonopoly fine.
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