KIEV (Sputnik) – Ukraine is a key country for transit of Russian gas to Europe. However, for years Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in gas disputes.
"This year, we did not buy gas from Gazprom. According to our estimates, we will not do this until the end of the year … If our Russian colleagues do not express their desire to accept standard terms of the contact, we most likely will not buy gas from Gazprom until the end of winter," Kobolyev told a press conference.
In June 2014, Gazprom switched Ukraine to a prepayment system for gas supplies citing its massive gas debt. Ukraine's Naftogaz appealed to the Arbitration Court in Stockholm, seeking a retroactive revision of its 2009-2019 natural gas transit contract with Russia.
In October 2015, Naftogaz said it would not buy gas from Gazprom due to high prices. Ukraine said it had other suppliers in Europe and would only resume purchases if Russian prices were below EU prices, while Russia said it halted deliveries when Ukraine failed to pay.
Europe intervened in the dispute late in 2015 to mediate the so-called winter gas package for the peak season in 2015-2016 at trilateral talks.
A 2016-2017 winter package has not been agreed on despite the onset of the cold season.
