The energy ministers of Russia and Ukraine agreed Monday that a
dispute over natural-gas deliveries to some rebel-controlled
territories in eastern Ukraine won't affect supplies to the rest of
the country and the European Union.
The spat between Ukrainian state gas company OAO Naftogaz and
its main supplier, Russia's OAO Gazprom, had endangered an
EU-mediated deal that was meant to secure gas supplies during the
cold winter months. It also raised questions on whether the two
sides would be able to negotiate a follow-up arrangement to
regulate deliveries over the summer months once the winter deal
expires at the end of March.
The agreement, following talks between the two ministers in
Brussels, doesn't resolve the question of who will ultimately pay
for gas delivered by Gazprom to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions but
not authorized by Naftogaz. Russian has been backing the rebels in
those regions.
The pact obliges the two sides to sort out the issue without
taking hostage far-greater supplies to the rest of Ukraine and the
EU.
"I am reassured that the supply of gas to the EU markets remains
secure, " said Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission's vice
president for energy, who presided over Monday's negotiations.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and his Ukrainian
counterpart, Volodymyr Demchyshyn, also agreed that they would
start talks on deliveries beyond March before the end of the
month.
"We agreed to discuss questions of summer gas supplies and gas
pumping into [Ukraine's gas storage] at the end of March," Mr.
Novak said in a statement distributed through his ministry's
Twitter account.
Naftogaz had complained in recent weeks that Gazprom had
unilaterally cut deliveries and that damage to pipelines in
territory controlled by pro-Russian rebels prevented it from
verifying deliveries there. Gazprom, meanwhile, warned that a
failure by Naftogaz to prepay for agreed volumes could leave
Ukraine--and the EU--without fresh gas within days. It said that it
had continued supplies to Donetsk and Luhansk for humanitarian
reasons.
After the talks, the two sides agreed that Naftogaz would
continue to pay in advance for deliveries for domestic consumption
in Ukraine and guarantee uninterrupted transit to the EU. However,
shipments to Donetsk and Luhansk that haven't been authorized by
Naftogaz won't be subtracted from those advance payments and
instead will be resolved separately.
"This will be the subject of special volume verification and
negotiations," Mr. Novak said in his Twitter statement.
Monday's deal removes the threat of immediate supply shortages.
But difficult negotiations are ahead on how much Ukraine should pay
for gas from Russia after March and how its large storage
facilities, which are key to ensuring supplies to Europe during the
winter, will be replenished during the summer months.
Ukraine has in recent months reduced its dependence on direct
deliveries from Moscow thanks to increased shipments from Slovakia
and other EU countries.
Write to Gabriele Steinhauser at
gabriele.steinhauser@wsj.com
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