Kyiv must pay gas debt, not threaten to sue Russia – PM Medvedev
“The Russian government insists that our Ukrainian partners must first and foremost concentrate on actual payment of the existing debt instead of threatening to sue Russia,” Natalia Timakova said in comments responding to Yatsenyuk’s remarks.
“If the debt is not paid off before the deadline, the matter in focus would be the transition to a pre-payment scheme [for Russian gas] rather than the prospect of lawsuits,” Timakova said.
Ukraine’s gas debt to Russia currently stands at $4 billion, according to EU Energy Commissioner, Guenther Oettinger.
Kyiv continues to reject the new price of $485 per thousand cubic meters of Russian gas, whereas Moscow says it is ready to discuss possible discounts only after it receives the first payments.
Russia’s Energy Minister Novak said on Friday that talks on gas payments and future gas price would resume next week, starting with another round of discussions between the European Union, Russia and Ukraine Monday.
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