UPDATE: Gazprom to abolish discounted gas price for Kiev from Apr

(Adds Putin statement in paragraphs 6–7)

MOSCOW, Mar 4 (PRIME) -- Russian gas giant Gazprom will abolish its discounted gas price of U.S. $268.5 per 1,000 cubic meters for Ukraine from April, CEO Alexei Miller told Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday, as cited by RIA Novosti.

“Gazprom has decided not to extend the discount starting next month,” Miller said.

Ukraine said late Monday that it cannot pay in full for Russian gas supplied in February, Miller said. Kiev, which earlier redeemed U.S. $1.3 billion of its debt to Gazprom, still owes $1.529 billion for gas supplied in previous months, he said.

Medvedev said that Gazprom must try to have the debt repaid fully and ordered the Finance Ministry to consider the possibility of providing a $2–3 billion loan to Ukraine to pay for the supplies.

“Definitely, it is a possible way to solve the problem. I will instruct the Finance Ministry to weigh all possibilities and complications, and precautions linked with the current low credit rating of Ukraine, and other aspects of Russian–Ukrainian cooperation in this sphere,” Medvedev said.

Gazprom’s decision to lift the discount has been dictated by commercial interests of the company and is not linked with the turmoil in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin also said.

“This (the discounted price) is just a commercial component of Gazprom’s activity. It has revenue and spending articles in its investment plans, like all large companies have… If they do not receive money on time, they cut their own investment programs. This is a real problem for them,” Putin said.

Ukraine purchased around 13 billion cubic meters of gas from Russia for $400 per 1,000 cubic meters on average in 2013. Gazprom agreed to cut the price to $268.5 for January–March 2014 in late 2013, when the now ousted President Viktor Yanukovich was at power.

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