PM hopes that volumes and price of gas for Ukraine to be more competitive

Minimum balance of gas purchase should be "50 to 50": "Minimum, which we are to buy from the EU, will be 50% of gas. Russia wants to spread traps for Ukraine, but we do not repeat the mistake that was made several years ago, " Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk stated during an hour of questions to the Government at the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Friday, May 15.

The Prime Minister underlined that the Government took a "very tough" position on gas supplies last year. He noted that in June last year he had a telephone conversation on this issue with one of the European leaders, "who advised to sign a new contract with Gazprom : "In reply I said- once we have already signed an agreement with them, it’s enough."

"We appealed to the Stockholm arbitration. We filed several lawsuits against Russia and demand from Russian Gazprom compensation for Ukraine in the amount of USD16 billion. We also demand from Russian Gazprom to revise the transit gas contract, which is unprofitable for Ukraine," the Prime Minister underlined.

He recalled that together with the European Commission a tripartite agreement on gas supply was signed last year. Through this agreement, the Prime Minister stressed, Ukraine "managed both endure the winter and avoid paying Russia $500 as provided by the gas contract": "We pay, and then they use our money to buy tanks, missiles and aircraft and fight against Ukraine."

In addition, last year the Government diversified sources of natural gas supply. Arseniy Yatsenyuk also noted the special role in this of Slovakia, the United States and the European Union: "Despite the pressure that was put on our European partners, if before we took 95% of gas from the Russian Federation, the last year we finished with 70 % of gas from the European Union and only 30% - from Russia."

"Now we have managed to achieve the price of Russian gas for Ukraine to be below $250. This is not those $500 that was several years ago," he emphasized.

At the same time, the PM has stressed that Russia wants to "prepare traps" for Ukraine, "To make us refuse from European gas that sometimes may be a few percent higher in price, to make us move solely to the Russian resource, and then, in the most difficult time for Ukraine they will say: buy 100% of gas at price that we will dictate to you."

"We will not repeat the mistake that was made several years ago," the Prime Minister stated.

Therefore, the Cabinet decided that the minimum gas balance should be "50 to 50": "the minimum that we will buy from the EU will be 50% of gas."
He reiterated that Ukraine buys gas from five European companies: Statoil, Royal Dutch Shell, RWE, E.ON, Gaz de France: «After the recent talks in France, we hope that volumes of the gas purchase and the price of European gas will be more
competitive than it is today."

According to Arseniy Yatsenyuk, another very important issue is to attract European investors into Ukrainian gas transportation system. He recalled that the law adopted in the Parliament provides that "only European and American companies may be co-investors together with Ukraine, which should possess a 51% of a state-owned company."

"Our dear European friends! We are not asking you to give us money. But we are saying to you: come here, invest in the Ukrainian gas transportation system and let's run this profitable Ukrainian-European business together. It will be the best response to Russian aggression," Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.