KIEV (Sputnik) – The current conditions on which Ukraine purchases gas could allow the country to buy it at a lower price in the future, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Saturday.
"Nine months ago Europe and the whole world were putting pressure on us to pay $385 [per 1,000 cubic meters of gas]. Today we are paying $248…and buying as much as we need. I think the tariffs will grow lower," Poroshenko told a Ukrainian television channel.
The president pointed out that currently Ukraine was receiving more than half of the total volume of gas from the European Union, not from Russia.
The so-called winter package of Russian gas deliveries to Ukraine expired on March 31 but Russian authorities agreed to extend it. During the winter months, Ukraine was paying $329 per 1,000 cubic meters, which was a $100 discount from the previous price.
On Saturday, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz requested Russia to sell 1 billion cubic meters of gas to Ukraine in April. Kiev paid Russia's Gazprom $30 million for April gas supplies.
