Trilateral ministerial-level talks between Ukraine, the European Union and Russia on natural gas are slated for June 29, Ukraine's Minister of Energy and Coal Industry Volodymyr Demchyshyn has announced.
“The talks will be on the 29th … yesterday [on Sunday] I spoke to [European Energy Commissioner] Maros Sefcovic. He said that he is physically ready. I spoke to Novak [Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak], he too was planning on the 29th …, but the main thing is for them to be ready to take decisions and not just talk,” Demchyshyn told a press conference in Kyiv on June 22.
The extension of the ‘winter gas package’ at least until March 2016 is acceptable for Ukraine, he said.
In his view, Russia should be interested in swiftly reaching a compromise since hurdles are not gainful to it.
“I expect the price [over the upcoming time period] to be lower than at the moment, under the formula of $290 [per 1,000 cubic meters], and given [the discount], $205-207 […] there is a high likelihood that the third or fourth quarter will be at one level, given which they should not be particularly keen on dragging it out,” Demchyshyn said.
