Russia, Ukraine Ready to Hold Trilateral Gas Talks September 6 – Russian Energy Minister

RIA Novosti

Updated on 03:52 p.m. Moscow Time

YAKUSTK, September 1 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow and Kiev are ready to hold three-party gas talks on September 6 and are waiting for the European Commission’s agreement, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Monday.

“September 6 would be comfortable for [Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuriy] Prodan and me,” Novak said, adding that they were waiting for the European Commission to give its approval for the date.

Novak said that any venue would be agreeable for the talks as long as it was comfortable for the participants.

“We could even hold them in Moscow,” Novak said.

Three-party consultations between Russia, Ukraine and the European Union on gas issues, ongoing since April, have yielded no significant results.

Russia offered Ukraine a $100 discount on the price for each 1,000 cubic meters, bringing the total price down to $385 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas, but Ukraine refused to agree on a deal.

On June 16, after several unsuccessful rounds of talks, Russian gas company Gazprom was forced to implement a prepayment scheme for gas supplies to Ukraine over its accumulated debt.

As of today, Kiev’s gas debt to Russia is estimated to be more than $5.3 billion.

Ukraine is a transit country for Russian gas. Around half of Russian gas exported in 2013 crossed Ukraine, which amounts to approximately 15 percent of European consumption, according to the International Energy Agency.

Over the last years, Moscow has repeatedly accused Kiev of stealing Russian gas bound for Europe.

Taking into account Europe’s dependence on Russian gas and in light of the likely gas shortages the European Union might see in the coming winter amid the gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine, the European Commission has repeatedly called for the talks to resume.