KIEV, June 2 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine's energy major Naftogaz will demand a "fair" gas price and seek to cancel several provisions in its gas contract with Russia's Gazprom in a planned lawsuit to be filed to an international court if Moscow and Kiev fail to agree on a new gas deal Monday, the Ukrainian justice minister said.
"It [the lawsuit] contains an array of demands concerning a fair gas price. We demand the fair price of $268.5 [per 1,000 cubic meters] to be fixed," acting Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko said. He added the draft lawsuit "contains provisions concerning the so-called take-or-pay norm, as well as provisions concerning a ban on re-export of gas."
Petrenko threatened that Kiev will also seek compensation for "excess payments" it had allegedly made in the past because of the gas price it considers unfair.
Kiev keeps rejecting Gazprom's new price of $485.50 per 1,000 cubic meters saying it is ready to clear its debt if Moscow agrees to sell gas at the old price, whereas Moscow says it is ready to discuss possible discounts only after it receives first payments.
The gas price for Ukraine almost doubled in April after Russia annulled two discounts granted previously to the country, following Naftogaz's decision to halt all payments last November.
With Naftogaz very likely to default on its debt again when the June 3 deadline expires, a decision was taken by the Kiev authorities in April to take the Russian gas giant to court. On April 28, Ukraine's acting Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said Kiev had prepared a package of documents to be filed with the international court of arbitration in Stockholm to settle its gas dispute with Russia.
