Russian President Vladimir Putin says that the price of Russian gas for Ukraine could be $180 per 1,000 cubic meters and gas supplies may resume at any moment.
”Nowadays, the price of Ukraine won`t be higher than that for the neighboring states, namely for Poland. I`m not aware of actual prices, but at the moment of our conversation [with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko], Poland was buying gas at $184-185 per 1,000 cubic meters on contractual terms. We could sell [gas] to Ukraine at $180. I named the price – $180 per 1,000 cubic meters,” Putin said at the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi, southern Russia, on Thursday.
”We have discussed the issue of gas shipments to Ukraine with the president of Ukraine at his initiative. He asked whether Russia could resume the shipments. Certainly, it could, at any second. Nothing [additional] is needed – we`ve got a contract and an addenda to it. The only thing required is prepayment,” he said.
”As far as I know, the price of gas for the ultimate industrial consumer in Ukraine already exceeds $300 per 1,000 cubic meters. We offer a price of $180, but they don`t want to buy from us yet,” he said.
In his words, Ukraine`s answer was that it had better buy it from Europe, ”which is a violation of a contract between Gazprom and its western counteragents.”
Putin assured that Russia ”had turned a blind eye” to this.
He assumed there were grounds why intermediaries involved in the deals on gas in the reverse direction ”are near to the heart of the heads of Ukraine`s fuel and energy complex.”
”Let it be – let them work. The main thing is that they could ensure transit supplies to European countries,” he said.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine in November 2015 stopped buying gas from Russia`s gas giant Gazprom.
On October 20, 2016, Chief Commercial Officer of NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine Yuriy Vitrenko said that purchases of gas from Russia for the 2016-2017 heating season would be the last resort and there would be no need to use that option.
