Russia sets gas deadline for Ukraine

Russia has set a one-week deadline for Ukraine to find ways of paying for Russian gas supplies following the breakdown of talks aimed at resolving a gas dispute between the two neighbors.

Speaking at an energy conference in Moscow on Wednesday, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak called on the Ukrainian government to make the payment for gas imports within a week.

Novak noted that the latest round of negotiations between Moscow and Kiev failed to bear results as questions were raised about the resources from which Ukraine plans to “get the money to pay in advance for gas supplies in November and December.”

“If the Ukrainians have the money, then the documents will be signed. If not, then we will wait,” he added.

Meanwhile, Sergei Kupriyanov, a spokesman for Russia’s gas giant, Gazprom, said gas flows would be resumed to Ukraine once Kiev got financial aid from Europe.

The new round of gas talks between Russia and Ukraine is expected to be held on October 29. However, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has expressed skepticism about the upcoming discussions.

In April, Gazprom increased the gas price for Ukrainian consumers to USD 485 per thousand cubic meters from USD 268 for the first quarter of 2014.

Kiev called the move politically motivated, but Russian authorities reject the claim. The gas dispute prompted Russia to cut off gas supplies to its neighbor in mid-June.

After several rounds of negotiations, Moscow and Kiev recently agreed on the price of gas at 385 per thousand cubic meters till March 2015.

Russia provides about half of Ukraine’s and 30 percent of Europe’s total gas demand with key pipelines on the Ukrainian territory.

SSM/HMV/SS