Ukraine wants to resume gas imports from Russia

Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said: “... we have received an official letter from the management of Naftogaz of Ukraine with a request to resume Russian gas supplies. In the second half of 2016 and in the first quarter of 2017, it is necessary to increase supplies in the winter period and during preparations for it. " In his opinion, the change in the opinion of Naftogaz becomes understandable if we take into account the reduction in the so-called return supplies from the EU countries. Miller said that the daily level of supplies fell 6.4 times in June compared to May, and 16.8 times compared to April.

Ukrainian television showed that the head of Naftogaz of Ukraine Andriy Kobolev confirmed that the company plans to purchase Russian gas in the third quarter. “If Gazprom agrees that in this particular case the price will be lower than the European side offers us. From the point of view of minimizing user costs and just common sense, they speak in favor of direct purchases of gas from the east, ”he said.

In recent months, Ukraine has supplied gas primarily from Slovak, Polish and Hungarian. Since coming to power in Kiev in early 2014, pro-Western politicians in Ukraine and Russia have clashed over the implementation of a contract signed back in the days of Viktor Yanukovych. In June 2014, Naftogaz filed a lawsuit in Stockholm to determine a fair price for Ukraine's gas supplied by Russia. In response, Gazprom filed a lawsuit against the Ukrainian concern over debts for the supplied raw materials. The Stockholm court accepted both complaints. It is expected that a decision on this issue will be made this year.