The tension between Russia and Ukraine is becoming stronger. Yesterday Gasprom President Aleksei Miller held two meetings with Andrei Kobolev, head of the Ukrainian Neftegas, and Russian Premier Dmitrii Medvedev.
At the meeting with Neftegas President Miller said that including the March gas deliveries , Ukraine owes Russia over $2.2 billion ($1.7 billion without March deliveries). Miller and Medvedev have discussed the situation and it was mentioned that condering denouncement of the “Kharkov agreements” on presence of the Russian Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol, gas price for Ukaine will go up by $100 per 1000 cub.m. up to $485.5 per 1000 cub.m.
Medvedev has poured oil on the flames by mentioning the return of the already offered discount: it was considered as “advance payment” for rent for presence of the Black Sea fleet in the Crimea after 2007. Now that the Crimean peninsula is Russian territory, the Russian authorities are going to demand repayment of these funds. Earlier Medvedev evaluated total amount of claims at $11 billion.
The polled RBC experts have earlier evaluated Ukraine’s losses in 2014 from rise in gas prices from $268.5 to $485.5 at $3-4 billion.
Minister of Energy Yurii Prodan said that Ukraine would like to take credit worth $2 billion for repayment of gas debt. Prodan added that Ukraine should not pay $485 per 1000 cub.m., because this is the “a non-market” price.
“This is not a market price and Ukraine’s economy should not pay such a price. This is a political price,” Prodan added.
