KIEV, November 18 (Sputnik) — Kiev is planning to make an advance payment to Moscow for Russian gas by December 1, Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan said Tuesday.
"I think that in the next week and a half or two [we'll make a prepayment], but most likely by the first [of December] but it all depends on the weather," Prodan told journalists.
Last month, Russia, Ukraine and the European Union agreed on the so-called winter package, securing gas deliveries to Ukraine for the winter months.
On November 7, Gazprom billed Ukraine"s Naftogaz for November deliveries of 2 billion cubic meters of gas, but Ukraine has not paid for it so far. Prodan said that Ukraine did not need Russian gas at the moment and would purchase it during the winter, depending on the weather, and hopes that the country would not require Russian gas at all.
Last Friday, Prodan said that Ukraine was planning to buy about 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas from Russia by the end of 2014 on previously agreed prepayment terms. On Tuesday, the Ukrainian energy minister confirmed that the plans remain unchanged and added that the purchase will start as soon as it gets cold.
