UPDATE: Russia suggests April 13 for EC, Ukraine gas talks

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MOSCOW, Mar 27 (PRIME) -- Russia has proposed to the European Commission to hold gas talks between it, the Union and Ukraine on April 13 in Berlin, but the commission has not responded, Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters on Friday.

“We’ve suggested April the 13th. If (E.U. Commissioner for Energy Union Maros) Sefcovic can be there, we will meet there,” he said.

Russia has already supplied over 300 million cubic meters of gas to the Donetsk and Lugansk self-proclaimed republics through the Prokhorovka and Platovo gas measuring stations in the Luhansk Region since February 19, Novak also said.

Russian gas giant Gazprom launched these supplies under its gas contract with Ukraine after the rebel republics said that Ukraine had halted gas supplies to them. Ukraine refused to pay for Russian exports to the regions as the country can not control volumes of supplies.

Ukraine has not asked Russia to prolong a U.S. $100 per 1,000 cubic meters discount from April 1 yet, Novak also said.

“As far as I know, it did not apply,” he said.

Russia insists on keeping gas prices at their current level in a contract that is to be signed with Ukraine from April and agrees to prolong the discount which was stipulated by a so-called winter package.

Ukraine’s Energy Minister Vladimir Demchishin said that the prolongation of Russia’s winter gas supply package deal suits Ukraine but in this case Ukraine sees no need in submitting a request for discount prolongation.

Ukraine expects that the Russian gas price will stand at $250 per 1,000 cubic meters in April–June and that it will be even lower in July–December, he said.

The price of Russian gas for Ukraine may amount to $348 per 1,000 cubic meters without a discount for April–June, Novak said on March 20.

The previous trilateral gas negotiations of the E.U., Ukraine and Russia were held on March 20 in Brussels.

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