Russia, EC, Ukraine to have 2nd round of gas talks on May 26, probably in Berlin

BERLIN, May 19 (Itar-Tass) - Russia, Ukraine and the European Commission (EC) will have a second round of tripartite gas talks on May 26. “I offer Berlin [Germany’s capital] as a venue for talks,” EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger told a news conference in Berlin on Monday. Russia is prepared to discuss a gas price discount for Ukraine, but only if the country pays its gas debt reaching 2,237 billion dollars by April 1, Energy Minister Alexander Novak told a news conference after a meeting with EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger in the German capital. “We do not rule out continued talks on possible discounts, but only the gas debt amassed by April 1 is repaid,” he said. Ukraine’s debt is of 3.5 billion dollars. If Ukraine does not pay the debt till the end of May, Russia will supply it on a pre-payment basis from June. However, Kiev refuses to pay the debt and disagrees with Russia’s decision to raise prices. Ukraine is a transit country for Russian gas exports to Europe that is why such situation can hamper gas supplies to European consumers. In order to avoid supply disruption in May the consultations within the Russia-Ukraine-European Commission format were started in May. “We’ve always favoured a constructive position at the talks,” Novak said in Germany’s Welt Daily on Monday. “Russia is ready to discuss further actions, including the payment terms. But what is happening now? We did not receive money in March and in April. Ukraine says it is ready to pay 268.5 dollars per 1,000 cubic metres. This price was effective from January to March. Please, pay the debt for any of these months. Prove a mere readiness. Then we’ll be ready to discuss further proposals,” he said. On May 16, Oettinger expressed hoped that Russia and Ukraine would reach a gas agreement soon. Ukraine’s Naftogaz current debt for Russian gas makes 3.5 billion dollars, Novak and Oettinger recalled. The throughput capacity of the Ukrainian gas transportation is 288 billion cubic metres system at the entrance and 178.5 billion cubic meters at the exit, including 142.5 billion cubic metres to European countries and 3.5 billion cubic metres to Moldova. Ukraine’s gas transportation system consists of 72 compressor stations, 110 production shops and 1,451 gas distribution stations. The overall length of gas pipelines operated by the company is 38,600 kilometres, including 22,200 kilometres of trunk pipelines and 16,400 kilometres of extensions. In December 2013, Russian Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukrainy signed an addendum to the gas agreement in effect from January 19, 2009, under which the price of Russian natural gas for Ukraine was to be reduced by one-third to 268.5 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic metres from January 1, 2014, compared to 410 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic metres in the fourth quarter of 2013. Moscow and Kiev also agreed that the discount would remain in effect as long as the key conditions were met, specifically timely payments for current supplies and repayment of debts. At the end of the first quarter of 2014, Gazprom said it would have to raise the price of gas for Ukraine by more than 100 U.S. dollars to 385.5 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic metres because Ukraine had failed to pay the debt for the gas delivered in 2013 and had not made payments for current supplies. Learn more on itar-tass.com