Ukraine’s Prime Minister on Wednesday rejected a Russian proposal to sell Ukraine gas at a discount, insisting that the contractual price be lowered.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk said at a cabinet meeting in Kiev that Moscow’s offer of a 100-dollar discount on its price of 485 dollars per 1,000 cubic metres of gas was a trap, the Interfax Ukraine news agency reported.
“Our position remains the same: Rewrite the contract and establish market price for gas,” Mr. Yatsenyuk was quoted as saying.
Mr. Yatsenyuk was speaking as another round of EU-mediated gas talks between Russia and Ukraine got under way in Brussels after the Russian energy giant Gazprom said Wednesday that it had extended into next week its payment deadline for Ukraine.
Russia had insisted that cash-strapped Ukraine pay about 2 billion dollars by Tuesday this week to settle its gas arrears, but Ukraine now has until 0800 GMT on Monday to pay, Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller said in Brussels.
After this deadline, Gazprom will only allow gas to flow in exchange for prepayment. Mr. Miller said the delay was to give the talks more time to progress.
Mr. Yatsenyuk reiterated that Ukraine wants the price it pays for Russian gas to be close to the European market price of 268.50 dollars per 1,000 cubic metres.
Russia upped the price to 485 dollars after it annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region in March, saying that a previous discount hinged on the lease agreement for its Black Sea Fleet stationed on the peninsula.
>The gas talks in Brussels are being watched closely across Europe as Russia has threatened to shut down gas shipments to Ukraine. Such an action would threaten a large source of supplies to Western Europe, which happened in 2009.
Russian President Vladimir Putin telephoned German Chancellor Angela Merkel about the situation, according to a Kremlin statement.
“Putin stressed that, in spite of the problems that have occurred, Russia’s delegation [to the Brussels negotiations] is authorized to continue talks in a constructive manner, aiming to reach a mutually acceptable agreement,” it said.
