Ukraine Dissappointed with Talks

Ukraine's Energy Minister expressed his disappointment at the outcome of today’s discussion on the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute, noting “the absence of a constructive approach from Russia at the talks on settling the issue of natural gas supplies to Ukraine.”

The comments by Yuriy Prodan were published on the Ministry website following talks by EU Energy Commissioner Güenther Oettinger with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Gazprom head Alexei Miller.

He called the Russian offer of a $100 reduction on its contractual price of $485 per 1,000 cubic meters, as “discriminatory.”

Minister Prodan said Ukraine had made several proposals, including jointly with the European Commission, on really market-based pricing mechanisms.

“Our latest proposal is to calculate the price proceeding from spot prices on European gas hubs, reducing it by the amount of costs for gas transportation from the Russian border to EU countries,” Prodan said.

Oettinger flew to Moscow on Friday in an attempt to find a compromise option to settle the gas-pricing dispute between Moscow and Kiev.