Putin: From June 1, Ukraine will receive gas on an advance payment basis, Kyiv will not pay off its debts
Moscow - Kyiv, May 15 (Navigator, Mikhail Ryabov) - From June 1, Ukraine will receive gas on an advance payment basis, Kyiv does not pay off its debts. This is stated in the address of Russian President Vladimir Putin to European leaders.
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"Dear Colleagues!
At the beginning of April, we proposed immediate consultations in order to develop coordinated actions to stabilize the Ukrainian economy and ensure sustainable supplies and transit of Russian gas in accordance with contractual terms.
More than a month have passed. Consultations were held in Moscow with representatives of a number of non-EU countries, during which our partners fully shared concerns about the situation with the Ukrainian side paying for gas supplied from the Russian Federation and the risks of insufficient gas injection into underground storage facilities in Ukraine.
As for the EU member countries, during this time the only meeting took place in Warsaw with a delegation led by the EC Commissioner for Energy G. Ettinger with the participation of a representative of the Ukrainian side Yu. Prodan. Unfortunately, we have to admit that no specific proposals were received from our partners to stabilize the situation with the Ukrainian buyer fulfilling contractual obligations and ensuring reliable transit.
Moreover, during this time the situation with payment for Russian gas has only worsened. OJSC Gazprom has not received a single payment for gas supplied to Ukraine. The total debt of the Ukrainian side increased from 2,237 billion US dollars to 3,508 billion.
And this despite the fact that the Ukrainian side received the first tranche of financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund in the amount of 3,2 billion US dollars.
In such conditions, the Russian side, in strict accordance with the contract, issued an invoice for prepayment of gas supplies to Ukraine and, starting from June 1, will supply gas in volumes prepaid by the Ukrainian side.
I would like to emphasize once again that this is a forced decision. The Russian Federation remains open to continuing consultations and joint actions with European countries to normalize the situation. For our part, we hope for a more active dialogue on the part of the European Commission in order to develop specific fair solutions to stabilize the economy of Ukraine,” Putin said in a statement.
Putin : Ukraine will receive gas on a prepaid basis from June 1; Kyiv is not paying its debts.