Ukraine Wants EU Intervention in Russian Gas Negotiations

Ukraine is seeking an interim price for Russian natural gas supplies after it failed to reach an agreement in talks with OAO Gazprom with less than three days left to meet a deadline to pay bills.

NAK Naftogaz Ukrainy is ready to pay its outstanding debt if Gazprom accepts a price suggested by the European Union, Chief Executive Officer Andriy Kobolyev said today in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital. The deadline for Ukraine to pay $1.95 billion for past supplies or be moved to prepayment is June 16, Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller said yesterday.

Ukraine, a linchpin in Russian gas supplies to the EU, rejected a 20 percent discount to current prices offered by Gazprom, insisting on a return to first-quarter levels, which represent a 45 percent reduction, as talks in Brussels ended June 11. The EU proposal called for a 33 percent cut, according to Kobolyev.

“The European Commission didn’t offer a bad compromise,” Kobolyev said. “Under such a compromise, Ukraine will pay its outstanding invoices and will set up a clear schedule of payments for future.”

via Bloomberg

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza