Arseniy Yatsenyuk: Arrangements on gas issues will be reached after Naftogaz and Gazprom have affixed their signatures

“It is early to tell we have reached understandings. The understandings mean when we have signatures of both Gazprom and Naftogaz and when gas flows have commenced,” PM of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk declared on air of the Facts of the Week with Oxana Sokolova on ICTV channel, on Sunday, October 19.

“I have no single reason to believe Putin,” he accentuated.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk reminded that the Ukrainian side had filed three lawsuits against Russia over the last four months. The first claim was filed in the Stockholm Arbitration Court to challenge the price of gas at $ 500, as provided in the core contract, to oblige Gazprom to reduce the price and compensate Ukraine for $ 6 billion overpayment. In the second claim the Ukrainian party requests Stockholm Arbitration Court to take an interim decision to facilitate fixing a temporary price for the winter as well as temporary terms of payment for gas.

“The third claim was filed with regard to transit. We are not going to subsidize the Russian "Gazprom" and therefore require a market price for the transit", said Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

In addition to the court decision, according to the Head of the Government, there is another option - the signing of an interim agreement, "This was discussed in Milan, but there has been taken any decision. I support both the court decision and a provisional agreement. Under the interim agreement, we are ready to have a market approach. We aren’t looking for handouts - there is a market, there is a price, and we are poised to pay to Russia the same way we are paying to our European partners. But stop the blackmail".

Arseniy Yatsenyuk stressed that Ukraine and the EU had developed a common position, "If we find opportunities to sign an agreement, we will to sign it. If not, then Europe should support us through increase of the reverse flows. Europe can increase the amount of reverse, and we can continue to buy from Europe the needed volumes".