Ukraine accuses Russia of cutting gas supplies
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Ukraine on Monday accused Russia of cutting supplies of gas after talks between the two countries passed a deadline set by Moscow without a deal on outstanding payments.
Gazprom, the Russian gas supplier, claims Ukraine owes $4.5bn for gas already supplied and had threatened to move the country to prepayment for its supplies if the outstanding payment was not settled.
Andriy Kobolyev, the head of Naftogaz, Ukraine’s state oil and gas company, told Ukraine’s cabinet that Gazprom reduced the supply at 10am (7am GMT).
“The only volumes coming in are those which Gazprom transports to Europe,” he said.
Vahram Chuguryan, of Eurostream, the Slovak gas company, said that no reduction in gas pressure or supply to the EU had been recorded at Velke Kapusany, the point where four pipelines come into the bloc from Ukraine. About 15 per cent of European gas supplies come through Ukraine.
The collapse of talks comes as tensions between Kiev and Moscow rise following the killing of 49 servicemen by separatists over the weekend, in the single most deadly strike by rebels since the government crackdown in the east in April.
Last week, Kiev accused Russia of allowing tanks and heavy artillery to roll across the border with Ukraine and into the hands of separatists. Nato released pictures over the weekend suggesting the tanks seen in Dyakovo region were unmarked Russian T-64 battle tanks. Russia denied tanks had crossed the border.
Arseniy Yatseniuk, Ukraine’s prime minister, said during a cabinet meeting on Monday: “This is not about gas . . . this is part of the general plan of Russia to destroy Ukraine. We will not subsidise Russia’s Gazprom . . . Ukrainians will not pull $5bn out of their pockets a year so that Russia can use this money to buy arms, tanks and planes and bomb Ukrainian territory.”
Mr Kobolyev said Ukraine had almost 14bn cubic metres of gas stored, enough to meet domestic demand until December.
Gazprom said it was moving Ukraine to a prepayment regime “due to the chronic non-payment of its gas bills”.
Arkady Dvorkovich, Russian deputy prime minister, said that Alexei Miller, Gazprom’s chief executive, was due to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, prime minister, later on Monday.
Naftogaz said on Monday it had filed a claim against Gazprom in a Stockholm arbitration tribunal seeking $6bn reimbursement for overpriced gas purchased since 2010 and “a fair and market price” for future supplies.
Günther Oettinger, European energy commissioner, said that Gazprom had refused to accept a European compromise proposal after a weekend of round-the-clock negotiations in Kiev. Under the proposal, Ukraine would have paid $1bn of its debts immediately, with the rest to be paid off over the year.
“The Ukrainian side was ready to accept this, but for the moment the Russian partners were not,” Mr Oettinger said, adding that he hoped Moscow would make some “adjustments” to the current proposed compromise.
German officials said on Monday negotiations had not yet broken down. “This is not, in our view, the end of the talks,” a foreign ministry spokesman said. “There is still time to find a solution that is agreed by all parties.”
Mr Medvedev said on Monday that Russia had not closed the possibility for further talks “on the condition of the full debt settlement”.
Officials in Ukraine, which relies heavily on Russian imports to fuel its inefficient economy, have repeatedly said they are ready to pay all outstanding bills once Gazprom reinstates “fair” pricing. The Russian energy giant in April nearly doubled its price to Ukraine from $268.60 per thousand cubic metres to $485.
In an open letter circulated at the weekend, Mr Kobolyev said the group had “paid all invoices for gas supplies the price of which is not disputed”.
“Naftogaz is prepared to pay for the remainder of the delivered gas as soon as we reach agreement on price,” Mr Kobolyev said.
Previous “gas wars” between Russia and Ukraine in 2006 and 2009 resulted in disruptions in supplies to Europe, which receives some 15 per cent of its gas through Ukraine. Gazprom – which relies on exports to Europe for a large share of its revenues – has stressed that it will continue to deliver gas to European customers, including increasing supplies through routes that bypass Ukraine if necessary.
Ukraine on Monday accused Russia of cutting supplies of gas after talks between the two countries passed a deadline set by Moscow without a deal on outstanding payments.
Gazprom, the Russian gas supplier, claims Ukraine owes $4.5bn for gas already supplied and had threatened to move the country to prepayment for its supplies if the outstanding payment was not settled.
Andriy Kobolyev, the head of Naftogaz, Ukraine’s state oil and gas company, told Ukraine’s cabinet that Gazprom reduced the supply at 10am (7am GMT).
“The only volumes coming in are those which Gazprom transports to Europe,” he said.
Vahram Chuguryan, of Eurostream, the Slovak gas company, said that no reduction in gas pressure or supply to the EU had been recorded at Velke Kapusany, the point where four pipelines come into the bloc from Ukraine. About 15 per cent of European gas supplies come through Ukraine.
The collapse of talks comes as tensions between Kiev and Moscow rise following the killing of 49 servicemen by separatists over the weekend, in the single most deadly strike by rebels since the government crackdown in the east in April.
Last week, Kiev accused Russia of allowing tanks and heavy artillery to roll across the border with Ukraine and into the hands of separatists. Nato released pictures over the weekend suggesting the tanks seen in Dyakovo region were unmarked Russian T-64 battle tanks. Russia denied tanks had crossed the border.
Arseniy Yatseniuk, Ukraine’s prime minister, said during a cabinet meeting on Monday: “This is not about gas . . . this is part of the general plan of Russia to destroy Ukraine. We will not subsidise Russia’s Gazprom . . . Ukrainians will not pull $5bn out of their pockets a year so that Russia can use this money to buy arms, tanks and planes and bomb Ukrainian territory.”
Mr Kobolyev said Ukraine had almost 14bn cubic metres of gas stored, enough to meet domestic demand until December.
Gazprom said it was moving Ukraine to a prepayment regime “due to the chronic non-payment of its gas bills”.
Arkady Dvorkovich, Russian deputy prime minister, said that Alexei Miller, Gazprom’s chief executive, was due to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, prime minister, later on Monday.
Naftogaz said on Monday it had filed a claim against Gazprom in a Stockholm arbitration tribunal seeking $6bn reimbursement for overpriced gas purchased since 2010 and “a fair and market price” for future supplies.
Günther Oettinger, European energy commissioner, said that Gazprom had refused to accept a European compromise proposal after a weekend of round-the-clock negotiations in Kiev. Under the proposal, Ukraine would have paid $1bn of its debts immediately, with the rest to be paid off over the year.
“The Ukrainian side was ready to accept this, but for the moment the Russian partners were not,” Mr Oettinger said, adding that he hoped Moscow would make some “adjustments” to the current proposed compromise.
German officials said on Monday negotiations had not yet broken down. “This is not, in our view, the end of the talks,” a foreign ministry spokesman said. “There is still time to find a solution that is agreed by all parties.”
Mr Medvedev said on Monday that Russia had not closed the possibility for further talks “on the condition of the full debt settlement”.
Officials in Ukraine, which relies heavily on Russian imports to fuel its inefficient economy, have repeatedly said they are ready to pay all outstanding bills once Gazprom reinstates “fair” pricing. The Russian energy giant in April nearly doubled its price to Ukraine from $268.60 per thousand cubic metres to $485.
In an open letter circulated at the weekend, Mr Kobolyev said the group had “paid all invoices for gas supplies the price of which is not disputed”.
“Naftogaz is prepared to pay for the remainder of the delivered gas as soon as we reach agreement on price,” Mr Kobolyev said.
Previous “gas wars” between Russia and Ukraine in 2006 and 2009 resulted in disruptions in supplies to Europe, which receives some 15 per cent of its gas through Ukraine. Gazprom – which relies on exports to Europe for a large share of its revenues – has stressed that it will continue to deliver gas to European customers, including increasing supplies through routes that bypass Ukraine if necessary.