Gazprom to Suspend Gas Discount to Ukraine

Russia’s Gazprom decided to discontinue gas price discount for Ukraine starting in April. 

“Ukraine hasn't settled the gas debt of the last year and today the country's outstanding debt for current gas supplies is increasing. Gazprom hasn't received any payments for the gas supplied in January, and our Ukrainian partners informed us yesterday that they would not be able to pay in full for the gas supplied in February, ”Gazprom Management Committee Chairman Alexey Miller told Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, as reported by a note released by Gazprom on Wednesday.

According to Gazprom, the Russian giant would have continued to give Kiev a discount price for gas under the condition of the payment of the debts accumulated over the last year.

“Unfortunately, I have to state that Ukraine hasn't paid off for the gas supplied last year,” Miller argued, adding that the neighbour has paid back “a little less than 50%.”

Medvedev answered saying that “it is no secret that those 50% they paid came from the sovereign loan we had given them.”

The conversation ends with Medvedev saying that the “decision to terminate the beneficial terms of supplies looks completely justified.”

The day after, Ukraine was reported to plan to curtail its gas imports from Russia, filling the gap with supplies from Europe. According to Bloomberg, Kiev will need to import about 30 billion cubic meters of gas this year, ‘of which a third may come through Slovakian pipelines.’

Also on Wednesday, Vladimir Putin, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko and President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev held a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council to discuss the Eurasian Economic Union from January 1, 2015. A note released in the evening reported that the three presidents discussed the possibility ‘of drafting an agreement on Armenia’s accession to the future union.’