Ukraine prepared to extend gas transit agreement with Russia under European rules
Andriy Kobolyev, CEO of Ukraine’s national oil and gas company Naftogaz, said in a press conference after trilateral negotiations in Brussels that the company is willing to extend the current agreements to transit Russian gas through Ukraine after 2019 if they comply with European regulations.
“Naftogaz is willing to consider future agreements only if they completely abide by the European legislation that has been implemented in Ukraine,” Kobolyev said.
He added that Naftogaz is open to all …
Putin asks Abe for investments during Kuril handover negotiations
Russia hopes to expand its investment and technological collaboration with Japan, said Russian President Vladimir Putin following negotiations with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe in Moscow.
After the leaders’ meeting in the Kremlin, to which Abe had come “fully resolved” to deal with the matter of the peace treaty – which has been left hanging for more than 50 years due to the territorial dispute surrounding the Kuril islands – Putin bemoaned the small amount of Japanese investments in …
Russia plans to send observers to presidential elections in Ukraine
Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Grushko stated in an interview with TASS that Russia will send its observers to the presidential elections in Ukraine on March 31 as part of the OSCE mission.
“Yes, we plan to send our observers and take part in the mission in accordance with all OSCE criteria,” he said. Grushko explained that Ukraine has no right to refuse to register observers. “Ukraine is a member of the OSCE. So, we act from the fact that Kyiv’s obligations, taken by …
Chechnya’s gas debts baffle Kremlin
Russia’s senior leaders are still unsure how to respond publicly to the incident in Chechnya where the Grozny District Court ruled to write off the population’s gas debts to the amount of 9 billion rubles, provoking a wave of similar proposals in at least seven other regions, reports finanz.ru.
This is a “very complex matter” and the Kremlin “has not taken a stance”, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said during a press conference on Monday.
“In this case, the commodity has been supplied to …
Ukraine to reduce its claim against Russia's Gazprom if new transit contract is signed
Ukraine’s state-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz will reduce the amount of the new claim against Gazprom from $12 billion to $2 billion if Russian gas monopolist signs a new transit contract, stated Naftogaz CEO Yuriy Vitrenko in Brussels, Ukrinform reports.
"Indeed, the sum of new claims is about 12 billion dollars. Part of these claims is because we do not expect gas transit through Ukrainian territory after 2019... The chances of winning are very high. We have already proven that when we …