Ukraine will not agree to Gazprom's prices
Naftogaz of Ukraine will not agree to buy gas from Gazprom in the third quarter of 2016 for the price offered by the Russian Energy Minister of $177 per one thousand cubic meters. On Friday, June 10, Director for Business Development at Naftogaz, Yuriy Vitrenko, wrote this on his Facebook page.
Vitrenko noted that the cost of European gas in July was below $173 per one thousand cubic meters. "All the necessary gas we will buy on the European market. Thankfully we have no problems there now," the Director wrote.
He also noted that the price offered by Gazprom is even higher than the price on the German market. According to him, this may become "sufficient argument" for Kiev in the Stockholm arbitration, where Naftogaz has filed a lawsuit demanding a revision of the price of gas.
A few days before this, Naftogaz sent Gazprom a letter with a proposal to resume gas supplies to Ukraine in the second half of 2016 and the first quarter of 2017. The letter stated that the purchase is possible if the price is lower than the one offered by European suppliers.
Ukraine refused to import Russian gas in starting in November 2015 and began importing transit gas from the European Union instead.