KIEV, April 28 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine and Slovakia have signed a memorandum allowing for the start of reverse gas deliveries from Europe through Slovakia, acting Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk told reporters Monday.
“Ukraine has just signed with Slovakia, namely with Slovak Transit Company Eustream, a memorandum on the cooperation in the energy field , which stipulates the start of reverse natural gas supplies through the territory of Slovakia,” Yatsenyuk said.
“According to this memorandum, if all parties meet the terms of the [mentioned] memorandum, we will be able to receive 8 billion cubic meters of gas per year,” he added.
Following Russia’s decision to cancel all discounts for Ukraine’s Naftogaz in early April, the company started importing gas from Europe through Poland. The total amount of reverse gas delivered to Ukraine via this route is currently estimated at a modest 1.5 billion cubic meters per year.
The new agreement with Slovakia, according to Naftogaz estimates, will guarantee up to 30 billion cubic meters of gas annually.
European Commission spokeswoman Sabine Berger said earlier that in accordance with the memorandum, Ukraine could import as much as 8 billion cubic meters of gas through the Slovak pipeline starting this fall.
Under a number of agreements between Russia and Ukraine, Kiev received unprecedented privileges and discounts on the price of Russian natural gas. In December, Moscow gave Ukraine a 30 percent discount on gas in addition to a $15 billion bailout.
Last month, the head of Russian state energy giant Gazprom said the company was annulling its discount on natural gas sales to Ukraine beginning in April. CEO Alexei Miller justified the decision by pointing out that Ukraine is $1.55 billion behind on payments for natural gas deliveries.
