Russia, Ukraine could sign gas deal on Thurs if documents ready – Russian …
MOSCOW Oct 30 (Reuters) – Russian Energy Minister Alexander
Novak said Moscow and Kyiv could sign a gas deal later on
Thursday if all the necessary documents were finalised.
He added that Moscow would insist on prepayment for future
gas deliveries to Ukraine, which it stopped supplying with gas
in June, citing unpaid gas debts.
“Russia maintains its position regarding prepayment – all
future deliveries during winter should be prepaid before
deliveries start,” Novak told a government meeting chaired by
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday.
Ukraine’s efforts to unblock deliveries of Russian gas as
winter sets in were deadlocked on Thursday as Moscow’s
negotiators were quoted as demanding firmer commitments from the
European Union to cover Kyiv’s prepayment for energy.
(Reporting by Katya Golubkova and Lidia Kelly; Editing by
Alexander Winning)