MOSCOW, September 3 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine’s gas company Naftogaz may be reformed to create operators of the country’s gas transport systems and underground storage facilities within nine months, according to the country’s National Renewal plan published on the Cabinet of Ministers’ website Wednesday.
“Reform Ukraine’s Naftogaz and create operators of the gas transport system and underground storage facilities within nine months,” according to the presentation on the government website.
Earlier in the day, Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolyov said that trilateral talks on Ukraine’s gas issue week between Russia, Ukraine and the European Union will be held most likely in Brussels next week.
Previous trilateral talks took place in several rounds between April and mid-June, but did not yield major results. Kiev insisted on a dramatic reduction in prices for Russian gas and refused to clear its debt of $4.5 billion at the time. Russia suggested a price reduction, but Ukraine did not agree to the conditions of the offer.
Russia's Gazprom switched to prepayment system for gas deliveries to Ukraine on June 16. Moscow said it was ready to resume discussions only once Ukraine had paid off the debt, which stands as $5.3 billion, according to the most recent estimate.
