Gazprom earlier on Tuesday said it had started preparations to reduce natural gas supplies to Ukraine as it seemed unwilling to pay a $2 billion gas debt and agree to higher prices in 2009. Ukraine transits about 80% of Russia's Europe-bound gas.
"The Ukrainian side has declared it is ready to comply with its transit commitments under any scenario. However, the way it is going about this under the contract [on supplies to Ukraine] does not fill us with 100% certainty that Ukraine will fully comply with its transit commitments, and we have repeatedly informed our European partners of this," Sergei Kupriyanov said.
The 2006 gas row between the two former Soviet states resulted in a brief cutoff in supplies to Ukraine. When shortages were reported in some East European countries, Russia accused Ukraine of siphoning off Europe-bound gas.
Kupriyanov said Ukraine was still unwilling to agree to use Gazprom's advance transit payments for the repayment of its debt.
"For quite a long time, we have been looking for some or other option for our Ukrainian colleagues to enable them to repay their debt. One of the options currently under discussion involves prepayment to Ukraine's Naftogaz for natural gas transit and the repayment of accrued debt using these proceeds," Kupriyanov said.
Naftogaz spokesman Valentyn Zemlyanskiy said in an interview on Ekho Moskvy radio on Tuesday the sides still had time to come to an agreement.
"New Year has not come yet, we still have a day and a half, let's wait," he said.
Kupriyanov also said talks between Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and Naftogaz chief Oleh Dubyna were continuing in Moscow.
Miller reiterated earlier on Tuesday that Ukraine should pay the market rate for Russian gas of $418 per 1,000 cu m from January 1. In 2008, Ukraine paid just $179.5. The country has been badly hit by the global economic crisis, and sought $14.5 billion from the International Monetary Fund.
The European Union, which imports a quarter of its gas from Russia, pledged assistance in solving the ongoing gas dispute on Tuesday.
"The European Commission, the French presidency in the EU and the Czech Republic [which will take over the rotating EU presidency on January 1], as well as the other EU member states, will do everything to assist a solution to be reached," Mark English, a spokesman for the European Commission, said.
English said the European Commission was staying in contact with officials in Ukraine and Russia.
