"Vedomosti": "Kiev Will Not Be Fined"
Gazprom lifts sanctions it imposed on Kiev for failing to buy all the contracted gas in exchange for inviting Moscow to take part in Ukraine's gas transportation system.
The main topic at yesterday's meeting between Vladimir Putin and Yulia Tymoshenko was Ukraine's failure to buy all the gas it had contracted for, adjustment of the contract, a $5 billion loan from Russia and modernisation of the Ukrainian Gas Transportation System (GTS).
Gazprom will not fine Ukraine $2 billion for failing to consume all the gas contracted for, Mr Putin said after the talks. In the first quarter Ukraine imported 2.5 billion cubic metres of Russian gas, half of the amount stipulated under the contract, according to Ukraine's Naftogaz. One way to compensate Gazprom for the shortfall may be to offset fines by payment for gas transit, Mr Putin said, but that may lead to problems in signing long-term contracts. If Ukraine's GTS changes, the problem of formalising the contracts and payback arises, he explained: "If another owner comes along to replace Naftogaz of Ukraine, whom would we charge?"
According to Mr Putin, Russia does not seek to gain control of Ukraine's GTS or a share in it. He proposed setting up an international consortium which would operate the GTS on lease. Kiev has invited Russia to contribute to the modernisation of the GTS, said Ms Tymoshenko, but the system must remain Ukrainian property.
The issue of a $5 billion Russian loan to Ukraine to pay for the pumping of gas into underground reservoirs remained unresolved. It calls for more consultations, said Mr Putin. "The Russian side does not rule out a credit in principle, but Ukraine wants too many preferences," says a Government official.
Ms Tymoshenko said earlier that Ukraine intended to pump 19.5 billion cubic metres of gas into its underground storage facilities in 2009, which is 2.5 billion cubic metres more than in 2008. "We need not fear the crisis if we have 20 billion cubic metres in storage, and we should build this model with Russia now," she said.
The failure to fulfil the annual gas supply contract remains an open question. Under the contract 40 billion cubic metres had to be supplied, but Ms Tymoshenko said the contract could be slashed to 33 billion cubic metres. "The issue of supply volumes was raised," says the Russian Prime Minister's Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov. They cannot be changed this year, but they may be revised for 2010. If no amendments have been introduced into the contracts, then Ukraine is in the position of a beggar, according to Bohdan Sokolovsky, adviser to the Ukrainian President. The two Prime Ministers are to meet again in the autumn, Mr Peskov announced.
By Yekaterina Ivanitskaya
