MOSCOW--The head of Ukraine's state-owned gas company, Naftogaz,
said Monday he expects talks with Russia and the European
Commission on the resumption of gas deliveries to Ukraine from
Russia to resume in July.
Russian state gas giant OAO Gazprom cut off supplies to Ukraine
on June 16, after demanding Kiev pay back billions in back debt.
Ukraine has refused to pay, after Russia raised the gas price by
80% in April, from $268 per 1,000 cubic meters to $485.5 per 1,000
cubic meters, following the ouster of a pro-Russian president in
February by protesters.
Since Russia cut off gas supplies, Ukraine has managed to pump
between 20 million and 34 million cubic meters of gas per day into
underground storage containers through the country's own domestic
supplies and from reverse flows from Europe, Naftogaz Chief
Executive Andriy Kobolev said.
While Russia has promised that stopping deliveries to Ukraine
won't affect supplies of gas to Europe, which transit through
Ukraine, Moscow has warned Kiev could siphon off gas for its own
use. The EU has also raised concerns that a drop in volumes held in
Ukraine's underground storage facilities could cause damage to the
pipeline system.
Write to Lukas I. Alpert at lukas.alpert@wsj.com
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