MOSCOW, May 20 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine must create a payment graph on its debts for Russian gas, pay a considerable amount in its arrears, and the European Union and the United States can possibly help, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday.
"When you loan someone money, do you want to get something back - kisses, promises or something else? I think that any creditor should receive his debt back, therefore from Ukraine, from its appropriate company, we hope to receive that debt that we granted for a time," Medvedev said during an interview with Bloomberg.
"We are aware of the current state of the Ukrainian economy," Medvedev then clarified. "We aren't saying they have to pay $3.5 billion all at once, but give us a timetable for paying off these debts, especially since Ukraine has just received a tranche from the IMF, and both the Americans and Europeans have promised loans."
Russian Prime Minister also noted that in order to start any price negotiations, especially since the dispute can affect Europe, Ukraine must first pay "substantial sum that would clearly indicate their intention to pay their debts. It can't be 3 percent."
Following a regime change in Ukraine late February, Russia's Gazprom made a decision in April to cancel two discounts earlier granted to the country, thus raising the price of Russian gas for Ukraine from $268.50 to $485 per thousand cubic meters. Acting Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk announced that Kiev was ready to pay off its debt if Russia agreed to sell gas at the old price of $268 per thousand cubic meters.
Ukraine's debt for Russian gas deliveries has reached $3.5 billion as of the end of April. Russia has decided to switch to a prepayment scheme due to the outstanding bills, in full accordance with the countries' contract. Following this decision, Gazprom prepared an advance bill for Ukraine's Naftogaz for June deliveries. In case of non-payment, Russia can suspend the gas supply to Ukraine starting June 3.
The West earlier accused Moscow of using Ukraine's dependence on Russia's natural resources to influence the country's internal affairs. Moscow responded by saying that the EU and the US are welcome to pay Kiev's debts and support its economy, as Russia did for almost two decades.
