BRUSSELS, April 11 (RIA Novosti) – The delivery of Russian natural gas to the European Union via Ukraine is stable at present and the European Commission expects Russia to fulfill its obligations in the future, a spokesperson for the commission said Friday.
“Gas supplies from Russia to the EU via all supply routes are normal and stable at the moment. And we expect Russia to respect its supply commitment and we expect Ukraine to respect its transit committment to the EU,” spokeswoman Sabine Berger said.
Earlier in the day, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said at a meeting with US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew that Moscow is concerned about the growth of Ukraine's gas debt, but intends to help support the country financially together with the IMF and EU.
The minister’s statement came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote a letter to European leaders stating that via gas discounts over the past four years Moscow has effectively provided a $35.4 billion subsidy to Ukraine. In the letter, Putin offered to hold high-level talks on measures to stabilize Ukraine’s crisis-hit economy, including ensuring the supply and transit of Russian gas in accordance with existing contractual obligations.
Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Putin expressed grave concern over the situation and suggested taking extreme measures to settle the problem because a resolution could not be delayed.
Ukraine currently owes Russian energy giant Gazprom $2.2 billion, but by the end of this year the figure could rise to $5 billion. Kiev still has not paid Moscow for March gas supplies.
Ukraine went through a regime change in February, following the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych and the rise of ultra-nationalist activists backed by the West to power in Kiev. Moscow has not acknowledged Ukraine’s new authorities as legitimate and has condemned its nationalistic policies as threatening the Russian-speaking population of the country.
Amid the current political standoff between Moscow and Kiev, Gazprom has cancelled two major gas discounts for Ukraine, bringing the price to $485 per thousand cubic meters starting from April 1.
