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Russia-Ukraine gas dispute

Minister: Russia won't sign document after gas talks if it has no EU, Ukraine commitments

Russia still calls on the EU to provide Ukraine with financial guarantees on the payment for gas purchases

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak Yekaterina Shtukina/Russian government press service/TASS

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak

© Yekaterina Shtukina/Russian government press service/TASS

VIENNA, June 3. /TASS/. Russia will not sign a document after the trilateral ministerial talks on gas in late June if it includes no commitments of the EU and Ukraine, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak has told reporters.

"Everything will depend on what is in the document. The work on this is underway. If it has some substantive issues that need to be confirmed, we are ready to sign. If there are again only commitments of our side, like it was for the second quarter, then there is no sense of signing it, we take all the decisions ourselves," Novak said.

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Russia still calls on the EU to provide Ukraine with financial guarantees on the payment for gas purchases, the minister stressed.

"We would like this document to include the commitments of Ukraine on the gas purchases and pumping into the underground storage facilities, the amounts and commitments of the European side that would be in charge of the issues of providing financial aid," he said.

"As you understand, there are problems there with money for paying for gas and for pumping of gas into the underground storage facilities. These issues are being discussed now," Novak said.

On April 1, Russia extended the so-called winter package into the second quarter, again offering Ukraine a $100 discount per 1,000 cubic meters of gas. In turn, Kiev has to strictly comply with all the conditions, and namely the payment of the remaining debt to Gazprom which including penalties is $2.477 billion.

Ukraine secured the discount upon the request of the European Commission.

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Russia-Ukraine Gas Dispute

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