BRUSSELS, October 22 (RIA Novosti) – Russia is acting in full compliance with the current gas contract and is ready to adopt a decree on a $100 gas price discount for Ukraine, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said.
"The Russian side is acting in full compliance with the contract, which remains in force to date. This contract envisages a possibility for a discount. The Russian side is ready to adopt a decree by the Russian government that allows for a $100 discount," the minister said Tuesday after a round of trilateral gas talks between Russia, Ukraine and the European Union in Brussels.
"As for the price, this issue has been discussed in detail today in relation to guarantees for preserving this price as long as a six-month winter temporary agreement is in place," Novak added.
The Russian energy minister noted that the volume of gas, required by Ukraine on prepayment conditions during November-December 2014 remains unclear, and the issue of payments for these deliveries is still unresolved.
According to Novak, the parties have agreed that the gas price for the period from October 2014 to March 2015 will stand at $385 per 1,000 cubic meters.
The Russian Energy Ministry also has information that Ukraine plans to buy about 2 billion cubic meter of gas in November.
"According to our data, in November Ukraine plans to buy about 2 billion cubic meters [of gas] at a price of $385 [per 1,000 cubic meters], which amounts to a total of $770 million," Novak said, also calling for EU to help Kiev prepay Russian gas deliveries for the winter months.
"We hope that the European Commission, the European Union, the EU countries will also pay attention and shoulder part of the necessary assistance. Since the consultations were launched in May, we have not noticed any significant financial assistance to the Ukrainian side so that it could pay for the already delivered gas," Novak said, also drawing attention to the fact that "there is no valid legal basis" for reverse gas supplies to Ukraine.
In June, Russia's energy 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.
Last week, after a meeting in Milan, Novak confirmed that Moscow and Kiev have resolved in principle all the key controversial issues, concerning Russian gas supplies to Ukraine during the upcoming winter season.
The energy minister confirmed that Ukraine had agreed to pay $385 per 1,000 cubic meters of Russian gas during the winter months. According to Novak, the only unresolved issue left was Ukraine's ability to find financing for the debt payoff and to ensure future payments on time.
