MOSCOW, June 02. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia’s gas giant Gazprom is ready to provide Naftogaz Ukrainy with discounts on the gas price if Ukraine repays its debt, CEO Alexei Miller said at a news conference on Monday. “If the Ukrainian debt is repaid, the Russian side will be ready to consider solving the price problem with not only lowering export duties, but also with direct commercial corporate negotiations,” Miller said.

Gazprom also will not sue Ukraine’s Naftogaz at the Stockholm international arbitration court before June 9, Aleksey Miller said.

“Along with the decision to delay introduction of advance payment to June 9 Gazprom decided not to sue Ukraine’s Naftogaz at Stockholm international arbitration court for this period of time,” he said.

Russia confirmed receiving US $786.4 million as payment for part of Ukrainian gas debt on Monday, the day when Moscow, Kiev and EU energy commissioner Gunther Oettinger will meet to discuss a gas agreement and discounts.

Kiev has long been seeking a revision of 2009 gas contract, under which it is to buy a set volume of gas, whether it needs it or not, at Europe’s highest price of $485 per 1,000 cubic meters.

Moscow dropped the price to $268.50 after Ukraine's then-President Viktor Yanukovych turned his back on a trade and association agreement with the European Union last year, but reinstated the original price after he was ousted in February.

Gazprom says Ukraine owes it over $3.5 billion.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that Monday’s talks between Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan will either end in a signing of a Russian-Ukrainian deal or with Kiev turning to a Stockholm arbitration court.

Ukraine’s Naftogaz Ukrainy has sent a draft additional agreement to Russia’s gas giant Gazprom which can settle all the controversial matters, the company said in a statement.

“The additional agreement envisages the contract’s price, volume and the terms of natural gas supplies,” the statement said.

“Naftogaz Ukrainy intends to resume the talks with Gazprom in a constructive manner.”

The European Commission is also committed to reaching a deal.

“The European Commission believes it necessary to use all the possibilities to reach a mutually acceptable compromise. Russia and Ukraine must try to find at least an intermediate solution to prevent interruption in gas supplies,” an European Commission official said.

On Friday, Ukraine said it paid $786 million, which Prodan said Kiev does not doubt as debt. Ukraine calculated the debt at $268.5 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas.

Oettinger indicated that the European Commission may support Ukraine’s discount demands but not before Ukraine repays the debt.

Prodan also said that Ukraine is preparing a suit worth “hundreds of billion dollars” against Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in March.

“It is part of a larger suit which Ukraine is preparing against Russia,” he said.