Kyiv announced its reluctance to buy gas from Russia at $247, as Moscow proposed taking into account the discount. From July 1, Naftogaz will stop purchasing from the Russian Federation, the company said in a statement.
At the same time, Kyiv promised to ensure gas transit to Europe.
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“An important condition for resuming the purchase of Russian gas is the agreement on a temporary position on the controversial points of the contract between Naftogaz and Gazprom for a period at least until the end of the 1st quarter of 2016. Agreements must be presented and secured in such a way that will allow each party to be confident in their implementation. The issue of final settlements between Naftogaz and Gazprom will be resolved during arbitration proceedings regarding the gas supply contract between Naftogaz and Gazprom at the Stockholm Arbitration Institute.
In order to avoid unwanted escalation in the gas dispute and prevent the risk of interruptions in gas supplies to European consumers in the winter, the Ukrainian and European sides proposed that the Russian side agree on such a temporary solution. Unfortunately, the Russian side has not yet supported this proposal and refused to sign the tripartite government protocol,” Naftogaz claims.
Let us remind you that Ukraine does not have the money to prepare for the new heating season and pump the required volumes of fuel into underground gas storage facilities that ensure transit during the winter period. The question for Kyiv is where to find $1 billion to pump into underground gas storage facilities if Europe promises to provide Ukraine with only half of the required amount.
Also today, the Kommersant newspaper reported that the Ukrainian leadership, based on political considerations, sometimes prefers to purchase more expensive gas in Europe instead of supplies from Russia.
“Ukraine is not always guided by economic considerations in this matter. Thus, the interlocutor admits, in April the price for Russian gas was lower than the European average - $250 per thousand cubic meters versus $280 in Europe, but Naftogaz preferred the reverse: of the 4,2 billion cubic meters purchased in the second quarter, Ukraine received only 1,54 from Russia, XNUMX billion cubic meters excluding Donbass,” the newspaper clarifies.