Gazprom urges Ukraine to settle accumulated debt

April 4, 2014
OAO Gazprom says Ukraine needs to settle more than $2.2 billion in accumulated debt for Russian gas supplies. The total includes overdue payments for March supplies.

OAO Gazprom says Ukraine needs to settle more than $2.2 billion in accumulated debt for Russian gas supplies (OGJ Online, Mar. 5, 2014). The total includes overdue payments for March supplies.

Andrey Kobolev, chief executive officer of Naftogaz of Ukraine, met Apr. 3 at Gazprom headquarters with Alexey Miller, chairman of Gazprom’s management committee.

Miller also met Apr. 3 with Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. According to a transcript on Gazprom’s web site, the natural gas price for Ukraine in April was set at $485 per 1,000 cu m. The Russian government has abolished the “zero customs duty” for Ukraine.

Miller said Ukraine received 1.956 million cu m of gas in March “and so far no payments have come for these supplies.” The situation, he said, “is not improving, but only getting worse.”

Medvedev said, “I think our Ukrainian partners should raise the necessary funds to settle the debts and pay off the current bills.”