Ukraine Responsible For Russian Gas Delivery
Ukraine is to blame for risks in Russian gas deliveries to Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Friday.
“Russia has always valued its reputation as a reliable supplier of energy resources to Europe. Today’s risks, and they are appearing, with gas deliveries to the European continent appeared not because of us, and it needs to be said straightforward, everyone here understands what we’re talking about, but the fault of the transit country – Ukraine – which is abusing its position as a transit country of our gas to Europe,” Putin said.
On Wednesday, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in a letter addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the EU believes Russian gas giant Gazprom is responsible for deliveries to Europe in the required volumes, including those transiting through Ukraine.
Kiev’s debt for Russian gas deliveries has reached $3.5 billion as of the end of April. Russia has decided to switch to a prepayment scheme due to Ukraine’s outstanding bills, in full accordance with the countries’ contract. Following the decision, Gazprom prepared an advance bill for Ukraine’s Naftogaz for June deliveries. In case of non-payment, Russia can suspend the gas supply to Ukraine starting June 3.
Kiev has no funds to pay for an additional 8 billion cubic meters of gas, worth $4 billion, to be pumped into its underground facilities. According to Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, the contract with Ukraine includes commitments to transport Russian gas to Europe and responsibility for any gas that is siphoned off.
Gazprom earlier said Moscow’s conflict with the coup-imposed authority in Kiev could potentially hamper Russian natural gas deliveries to Europe through Ukraine. The company said it feared Ukraine’s Naftogas could fail on its transport obligations, withholding some gas allocated for Europe for itself.
The next round of trilateral talks on gas between Russia, Ukraine and the European Union is scheduled for May 26. The meeting is likely to be held in Berlin.
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