Editor's Note: The following story was published online by Russia Today, a Kremlin-funded information organization that has been criticized for its anti-Western and anti-Ukrainian propaganda.
Russia and Ukraine are again involved in an energy dispute, after
Gazprom accused Naftogas of importing less gas in 2012. Experts worry a
“full-blown trade war between Russia and Ukraine” may emerge “over this
issue.”
Gazprom sent Ukraine a $7bn bill for failing to meet the import
requirements stipulated in the 2009 contract, the Financial Times (FT)
reports.
In 2012 Ukraine bought 32.9bn cubic metres of Russian
gas, with Naftogas importing 24.9bn and Ostchem Holding – the other gas
supplier to Ukraine – the remaining 8bn cubic meters. Gazprom insists
that under a 2009 contract Ukraine should buy 52bn cubic metres of
Russian gas a year, with the possibility of it being reduced by 20% – to
42bn cubic metres. The lower volumes are linked to the ‘take it or pay
it’ clause in the contract, which means Ukraine needs to pay for a set
minimum of 42bn cubic metres of gas whether the country uses it or not.
