Brussels, 12/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - The negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, under the mediation of the EU, to settle the gas dispute between Moscow and Kiev remained bogged down on Thursday 12 June.
Despite the postponement to 16 June of the ultimatum set by Gazprom for settlement of the Ukrainian debt - and hence the postponement of the move to a system of pre-payment deliveries demanded of Russia - Ukraine still had not accepted the latest price offer from Moscow of a reduction of US$100 on the price set by a contract in 2009 of US$485 per 1,000 m3 of gas.
For Ukraine, the Russian offer is, firstly, too high compared with the price that was reviewed downwards to US$ 268 at the end of 2013 - a price which lasted until the former pro-Russian Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovych, was ousted. Secondly, the price carries no guarantee because this price of US$385 would be the result of a reduction decided by the Russian government and not by a commercial contract in due form, said Ukraine's Minister for Energy Yuriy Prodan on Wednesday.
European Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger suggested on Wednesday that the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations might continue at the level of the two countries' presidents, and that the two parties might find ground for agreement on the basis of the protocols put together at the trilateral level. However, on Thursday, Russia's Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov gave no indication that such contact was planned. “If the Ukrainian representatives (Russia is in talks with) have no authority, then it will not be easy to conduct any future negotiations”, he said sarcastically. (EH)