This weekend's trilateral consultations on energy security in Kiev finished after meetings between EU Energy Commissioner Günther H. Oettinger, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan, Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolev and Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller. A bilateral meeting between Commissioner Oettinger and the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko also took place.
The European Commission acts as a mediator in the trilateral talks that started in the beginning of May with the aim to find a solution that secures gas supplies from Russia to Ukraine. Being aware of all the arguments from Russia and Ukraine and the state of play as regards open bills, Commissioner Oettinger developed a proposal for a package solution.
The main points of this package are:
1) Plan for payments:
Ukraine would pay 1 billion USD immediately on Monday. The remainder of the unpaid bills should be paid in six additional payments, so that all open bills are settled until the end of the year. Bills for future deliveries would be paid on time in line with the contract.
2) Price:
A future price would take the form of a spread, consisting of a summer and a winter price. The winter price would be 385 USD per 1000 cubic meters, and the summer price would be 300 USD or a few dollars more.
The Ukrainian side was ready to accept this, but for the moment the Russian partners were not. The Russian side insisted on immediate payment of 1.9 billion USD, and an overall price of 385 USD.
As the Commission is convinced that a solution is still possible and in the interest of all parties concerned, it will reflect on the next steps and on when to bring the parties together again.