Russia’s Gazprom Explains Details of Gas Agreement With Ukraine

Text of report by corporate-owned Russian news agency Interfax

Moscow, 21 February: The Naftohaz Ukrayiny state oil and gas company will only conclude a direct contract with the Gazprom public company for the gas that was used without a contract, while subsequently gas will be sold by the two companies’ joint ventures, official Gazprom spokesman Sergey Kupriyanov told the Gas Information Agency (AGI) [affiliated to Interfax].

Earlier on Thursday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko said following her talks in Moscow that the government would remove the Ukrgazenergo company from the Ukrainian market in the first quarter of this year and transfer its functions to Naftohaz Ukrayiny.

“In view of the fact that, since 1 January, Naftohaz Ukrayiny was taking Russian gas without any contract at all, we are now saying that these volumes can be contracted directly by Naftohaz [Ukrayiny],” Kupriyanov said.

“In any case, however, this only concerns the first quarter [of 2008]. After that, there should be two joint ventures in operation – something which was agreed on 12 February,” the official Gazprom spokesman stressed.

Commenting on Tymoshenko’s words that the Russian side had said there was no need for any intermediaries in gas supplies between the two countries, Kupriyanov recalled that “all the original ideas concerning any intermediaries in gas supplies to Ukraine were Ukrainian, not Russian ideas”. “We are now saying that it is not the intermediaries but the joint ventures of Gazprom and Naftohaz [Ukrayiny] that will carry out the supply,” he said.

Concerning Tymoshenko’s statement that the Ukrainian government and Gazprom had agreed on the repayment of the Ukrainian debt for the gas used in October-December 2007 at the price of 130 dollars for 1,000 cu.m., Kupriyanov observed that “this is absolutely not new information or some new agreement”.

“Back on 12 February we agreed that gas supplies in 2007 are to be paid for at 2007 prices,” the Gazprom spokesman recalled.

Originally published by Interfax news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1920 21 Feb 08.

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