Thursday's agreement between Russia's gas monopoly OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) and Ukraine's Naftogaz over supplies of natural gas does not eliminate the intermediary RosUkrEnergo, Vedomosti daily reported Friday, citing Naftogaz's spokesman Valentin Zemlyanichny.
The new deal, which ended a month-long dispute between Russia and Ukraine over payments for gas shipped to the latter at the start of the year, says nothing about intermediaries between Gazprom and Naftogaz.
The deal simply doesn't state who will deliver the gas, Zemlyanichny said.
That was confirmed by a source at Gazprom, saying that the question of middelmen is subject to further negotiations between the two parties, Vedomosti reported.