Moscow – Kyiv, May 07 (Navigator, Mikhail Stamm) - Even today, practically in war conditions, Ukraine can receive a discount on gas from Russia. Moscow's demands: Ukraine must pay off its debts using a loan provided by the IMF, and Europe must stop obstructing the completion of South Stream.
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Russia will be ready to consider the issue of a possible discount on gas for Ukraine if such a request is made by Kyiv at the second stage of negotiations with the participation of a representative of the European Commission, government sources told Izvestia.
The fundamental condition for this is the beginning of repayment of the debt for already supplied gas - the source of payments should be the IMF loan already allocated to Kyiv. In addition, Moscow at the next stage of negotiations with the EU and Ukraine will insist on completing construction and launching the South Stream, work on which is under threat due to the introduction of the Third Energy Package (TEP) by the European Union, sources say.
Negotiations could take place between May 16 and May 19 in one of the European countries. The exact location has not yet been determined.
Let us remind you that yesterday the IMF announced that it would allocate $17 billion to Ukraine on the condition that Russia gives Ukraine a discount on gas in the amount of $100 for every 1000 cubic meters. The possibility of such a discount was also announced by the Ministry of Economy of the Russian Federation, without explaining its reasons.
South Stream is a Gazprom project for the construction of a gas pipeline with a capacity of 63 billion cubic meters. m of gas per year through the Black Sea to the countries of Southern and Central Europe. At the end of 2015, the first gas should flow through South Stream. An obstacle to the implementation of South Stream is the so-called Third Energy Package, which should contribute to the liberalization of gas and electricity markets in the EU. In particular, it prohibits the same company from simultaneously being their supplier and owning distribution networks and gas pipelines.