Moscow and Kiev reach gas supply deal

(Baonghean.vn) - On Monday, March 2, Moscow and Kiev jointly approved an agreement to ensure continued gas supplies from Russia to Ukraine until the end of March. This also means that gas deliveries to the EU via Ukraine will be guaranteed in the coming weeks.

Second, after hours of negotiations, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Demtchichine reached an agreement in Brussels, Belgium, under which the Ukrainian company “Naftogaz agreed to prepay Gazprom for March purchases. Gazprom will ensure the transportation of gas to Europe and supply up to 114 million cubic meters of gas per day to Ukraine on the basis of documents previously paid by Ukraine.

Alexei Miller, CEO of Gazprom on February 4 in Moscow. Photo: AP/Misha Japaridze

However, European Commission spokeswoman Annna Kaisa Itkonen said that the talks on Monday only covered the “winter package” agreements from October 2014. The “spring package” in the coming months has not yet been negotiated.

Kiev and Moscow signed a European-brokered gas supply deal in October 2014, but the deal is set to expire at the end of this month. Tensions began to flare last week when Kiev cut off gas supplies to eastern Ukraine, which is under rebel control. In response to Kiev's decision, Russia's Gazprom decided to supply gas to eastern Ukraine.

In addition, Naftogaz has accused Gazprom of not delivering the amount of gas it paid for. Meanwhile, Russia's energy minister has warned that Kiev is approaching the deadline for prepayment for the gas deliveries. That's why a European-led mediation panel was set up on Monday to resolve the issue.

Naftogax announced on Friday that it had sent an initial $15 million to Gazprom for gas deliveries in March. This is seen as a move to “pacify Europe” who are worried about disruptions to gas supplies from Russia via Ukraine to Europe. In 2014 alone, Russian gas accounted for 30% of Europe’s consumption, and 40% of the 147 billion cubic meters of gas Russia sold to Europe was transported via Ukraine.

Chu Thanh– according to LeMonde 2/3