Russia's OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) Tuesday said the situation relating to Ukrainian payments for natural gas in May is "very serious" in comments that echoed the cutoff in Russian energy supplies to Europe in January.
"We consider the payment situation for Russian gas supplies to Ukraine in May as very, very serious," said Alexei Miller, chief executive at state-run monopoly Gazprom following a meeting with his counterpart at Ukraine's Naftogaz. "If there is a disruption to Ukraine's payments, Gazprom has the legal right to switch to a 100% prepayment scheme."
Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said Naftogaz is in a "dire financial state" that casts doubt on the company's ability to pay for gas deliveries.
"Naftogaz is finding it enormously difficult to pay its bill for May," said Kupriyanov, adding if the Ukrainian company is unable to pay Gazprom may ask for future payments in advance.
"We are hoping that the European Union bodies will assume some responsibility for the situation rather than sidestep the possible difficulties as it did during the transit crisis that arose in Ukraine in early January 2009," said Kupriyanov.
Much of the E.U. was left without Russian gas supplies in the first week of this year, when talks on a 2009 supply contract for Ukraine ended in failure and Gazprom suspended supplies through the country.