Updated 4:17 p.m. Moscow Time
MOSCOW, October 7 (RIA Novosti) – The date of the next Russia-Ukraine-European Union gas talks may be announced “in the next day or two,” Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Tuesday.
“I spoke to [European Commission Vice President Gunther] Oettinger this morning. The other sides have agreed to prepare their proposals for the three-party protocol this afternoon. We, on our part, have sent our proposals last Friday. The European Commissioner will prepare and process the proposals from all the sides and will give us the summary of these initiatives, and we will agree on the date [of the meeting] in the next day or two,” he said.
The minister added that Russia is ready to meet on any proposed day, but the date should be agreed by all sides.
Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan announced on Monday that Russia, Ukraine and the European Union may hold another round of gas talks next week.
Russia and Ukraine have been negotiating the date of the next meeting for the past days, as Kiev is unsatisfied with the "winter package" proposed by Moscow and the European Commission during a ministerial gas meeting late September in Berlin.
Kiev does not agree with Russia's offer of a $100 discount to the price for 1,000 cubic meters in the form of an export-duty exemption and wants the contract price to be reduced instead.
Ukraine also wants to agree the debt repayment schedule, as well as terms and schedules of future gas deliveries and insists on amending the current gas contract with Russia in order to formally authorize reverse deliveries of Russian gas to Ukraine from Europe.
In June, Russia's gas giant Gazprom was forced to introduce a prepayment system for gas deliveries to Ukraine due to Kiev's massive debt which is currently estimated at $5.3 billion
