Gazprom wants guarantees on gas purchases from the Ukraine

Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukrainy have begun negotiations on terms of gas supply in the first quarter of 2016. According to the Kommersant’s information, Gazprom is ready to offer the Ukraine a substantial discount in exchange for guarantees of the purchases of certain amounts of gas, but the Ukrainian side is not inclined to give such promises.

On Friday, in Berlin, the leaders of Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukrainy Alexei Miller and Andrei Kobolev held the first talks on the gas supplies to the Ukraine in the first quarter of 2016. By results of the meeting, Gazprom stated that Naftogaz was going to appeal to the Russian Government for a new discount on gas. Gazprom itself asked Naftogaz to provide a guarantee letter, indicating the volume of gas that the Ukrainian company intended to purchase from Russia before the end of March. At the same time, according to the Kommersant’s information, neither the price of gas in the first quarter is yet agreed on, nor the amount of the discount to the price of the contract dated 2009.