WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Friday that Russia's gas price for Ukraine in the second quarter of 2016 will stand at under $180 per 1,000 cubic meters.
"Some $160-170, in this range," Demchyshyn said, when asked what price would work for Ukraine. "This is a fair market price."
Demchyshyn told Sputnik on Thursday that Kiev is willing to buy Russian gas at rates considerably lower than $180 per 1,000 cubic meters, claiming that the market rate for gas is below prices set by the Russian gas giant Gazprom.
"There is an agreement between Naftogaz and Gazprom signed in 2009 on extremely unprofitable condition for Ukraine <…> We say that this price is not sufficient to be profitable for Ukraine," Demchyshyn said on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, DC.
According to the minister, the European Commission has sent invitations to gas negotiations to both Kiev and Moscow.
"We received a letter on behalf of EU Commissioner Maros Sefcovic 10 days ago, and we responded to it a week ago. I talked to Sefcovic and he said that he was sending invitations to both parties. The invitation theoretically could not have reached Moscow, but it is unlikely," Demchyshyn said.
The same day, Naftogaz said that it had no plans to resume purchases of natural gas from Russia's energy giant Gazprom from April 1 but will continue to ensure uninterrupted transit of Russian gas to European consumers.
In October 2015, the energy company said that the country was stopping gas purchases from Gazprom, and any decision to continue to import gas from this supplier would depend on prices.
