Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on October 6 that Moscow and Kiev should compromise over the months-long gas dispute that would re-open gas exports for winter, but warned Ukraine’s outstanding debt won’t be forgiven.
Acknowledging that the current situation in Ukraine calls for more flexible approach, Medvedev said search for compromises must be continued, and therefore contacts must go on.
Russia has to put forward “acceptable” proposals, Medvedev said when meeting with ministers of economy and of energy respectively
Russia offers Ukraine a “favorable” 20% discount of the contract price of 485 dollars per 1,000 cubic metres of natural gas, Medvedev said, which is only valid for six winter months. Still, “the debts must be paid off,” Interfax quoted Medvedev as saying.
Alexei Kokin, a senior oil and gas analyst at UralSib Financial Corp, told New Europe on October 7 that he would expect some sort of compromise very soon. He ruled out the possibility of another gas crisis. “No, I don’t think there will be a gas crisis. It looks like there’s going to be a compromise and Ukraine will get 5 or 10 billion cubic metres to get it through the winter from Gazprom directly,” Kokin said, adding that transit supplies to the EU will be “more or less secure”.
On October 6, Medvedev also attended a Russian Security Councilmeeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss, among other things, the ceasefire in southeastern Ukraine and ways to counteract the radicalIslamic Stategroup.
Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on October 6 participants have noted the fragility of theceasefire regimein Ukraine, notably in the area surrounding the airport of Donetsk.
Russia’s involvement in eastern Ukraine and a standoff on gas pricing between Moscow and Kiev have deteriorated relations between Russia and the European Union.
In June, Russian gas monopoly Gazprom cut all gas supplies to Ukraine as the two sides failed to reach an agreement on payments.
The EU is heavily dependent on Russia, from whom it imports a third of its oil needs, 39% of gas and 26% of solid fuels, according to official EU statistics.
Russia’s Energy Minister Aleksander Novak has agreed with Medvedev at their meeting on October 6, warning Ukraine could be on the verge of disaster if a deal isn’t reached. “The energy balance analysis shows that the volume of gas pumped in underground storage is not enough to pass the autumn and winter periods normally, without restoration of the current deliveries to Ukraine,” RT quoted him as saying.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan told reporters in Kiev on October 6 that Russian and Ukrainian proposals concerning the prospective gas agreements will be discussed and integrated next week. “Next week, the commission is still going to coordinate and integrate various propositions from the Russian and Ukrainian sides regarding the protocol, and the meeting will probably take place in a week,” Prodan said.
He added that the European Commission was developing materials with regard to a Ukraine-Russia gas compromise.
A joint press release by EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger, Novak and Prodan said the venue and date of tripartite gas talks in the EU-Russia-Ukraine format was being discussed.
“Following the proposed Protocol in Berlin on September 26, the process for agreement of the terms of the Protocol is currently ongoing. The exact day and place for the next negotiations will be set next week,” reads the statement by the parties published by the European Commission on October 3.
Separately, Oettinger said on October 6 he expected an interim gas deal between Russia and Ukraine to be completed this month, enabling Russian gas deliveries to Ukraine this winter and curbing the threat of cuts to Europe.
“We should get the interim solution in October,” Oettinger said on the sidelines of a meeting of energy and environment ministers.
Oettinger’s comments came as he presented to EU ministers the results of stress tests, which showed that the continent’s energy systems could easily withstand a one-month halt in Russian gas transit flows through Ukraine.
“The results of the stress tests indicate we might have a few more problems if the disruption is longer than a month, but we could still cope,” Italy’s Undersecretary for Economic Development and Energy Claudio De Vincenti said.
De Vincenti said the EU was neutral on the Russian-backed South Stream pipeline, which is designed to detour crisis-hit Ukraine and boost supplies to Europe. “There’s no hostility. We need to find a way to accommodate it with European energy infrastructure regulations,” he said, referring to EU demands that the pipeline be open to third-party access.
http://www.neurope.eu/article/russia-offers-ukraine-gas-break-wants-back-bills-paid