Energy Min: Russia still ready for peaceful gas deal with Ukraine

BREST, Belarus, Dec 13 (PRIME) -- Russia is still ready for a peaceful settlement of a gas dispute with Ukraine if it sees the state ready to meet halfway, Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters on Thursday.

“We have repeatedly said that we are ready to settle the dispute which is still considered by the court… I think that if our partners agree and are ready to meet halfway, we are also ready,” he said.

Experts from Russia, the E.U. and Ukraine will conduct trilateral negotiations on gas supplies at the end of 2018 or in early January, Novak also said.

“We have talked to (European Commission Vice President for Energy Union Maros) Sefcovic. We hope for a (top level) meeting in the second half of January which will be preceded by an expert meeting,” he said.

The Stockholm arbitration court ruled earlier in 2018 that Gazprom must pay Ukraine’s state energy holding Naftogaz Ukrainy U.S. $2.56 billion for non-shipment of gas. Gazprom said that the decision led to an imbalance in relations of the companies and requested termination of gas transit and delivery contracts with Ukraine.

In 2015, Naftogaz Ukrainy stopped gas purchases from Russia in the wake of serious worsening of political relations.

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