Russian gas monopoly Gazprom said on February 12 it was time Ukraine’s national oil and gas company settled its debt. Earlier in the day, the International Monetary Fund(IMF) agreed to throw a new$17.5 billion lifelinetoUkraine as a renewed cease-fire and an overall agreement to end the war inUkrainewas announced in Minsk.
The cease-fire is scheduled to begin at midnight on February 14 but crucial issues like the truce line left unresolved.
Announcing the IMF programme in Brussels, Managing DirectorChristine Lagarde acknowledged that there were serious risks in providing any credit to Ukraine but said that the aid was needed urgently. The IMF said Ukraine’s economy contracted by about 7% in gross domestic product last year as conflict drags on in the east of the country. This, in turn, has taken its toll on industries and export revenue, damaging the country’s financial system.
With the IMF loan, Gazprom said it's time Ukraine pays its gas debt. “Gazprom has every right to claim the funds,” Russia’s LifeNews TV channel quoted Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak as saying.
Ukraine has been paying its $2 billion in debt to Gazprom in installments. A so-called “winter package” gives Ukraine a discount on gas prices, though that deal expires on March 31.
The European Commission is pushing ahead with plans to create an Energy Union to avoid dependency of many EU Member States on a single supplier.
At the Energy Union Conference of the EU Energy Ministers that took place in Riga on February 8, Climate Action and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete stressed his plans for strengthening the Energy Community in general, and specifically developing a strategic energy relationship with Ukraine, helping it modernise its energy industry.
Naftogaz welcomed Canete’s statement, noting that “Ukraine is on a clear path towards further integration with the EU, and so is Naftogaz: over the course of the last year, imports from Russia fell 64%.EU imports however, were sharply on the up, overtaking those from Russia, because the commercial terms are preferable”.
Naftogaz said the EU and Ukraine are interdependent in terms of energy, noting that as much as 15% of the EU’s imported gas flows through Ukraine. As such, the country adds liquidity and stability to the EU gas market Ukraine also has the largest gas storage capacity in Europe, it added.
http://www.neurope.eu/article/after-imf-loan-gazprom-wants-ukraine-settle-debt