MOSCOW, August 29. /ITAR-TASS/. Gazprom is ready to offer Ukraine a gas price discount of $100 before an arbitration ruling, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday.

Russia’s current gas price for Ukraine stands at $485.5 per 1,000 cubic meters.

Novak made this statement after talks with EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger who had arrived in Moscow on Friday to try to find a solution to the Russia-Ukraine gas price dispute.

The minister said this proposal was consistent with the effective gas contract between Russia and Ukraine and could be formalized by an additional agreement.

Gazprom offered Ukraine a $100 gas price discount at talks between Russia, Ukraine and the EU in June. However, this proposal was rejected by Kiev. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said at the time the proposal was a “trap” and said Ukraine was ready to fulfill its obligations but at the old price based on two discounts. The parties failed to reach agreement at the time.

Ukraine must repay Russia $1.45 billion debt to resumption of gas supplies — Gazprom CEO said.

Russia and the European Union have made progress in gas talks but a final result has not yet been achieved, European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettigner said on Friday.

The Ukrainian national energy company Naftogaz owes $5.3 billion to Gazprom, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak on Friday.

The minister said Ukraine had not paid for 11 billion of cubic meters supplied by Gazprom to the ex-Soviet republic.

European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettigner said on Friday he expected a schedule of Ukraine’s gas repayment to Russia to be approved soon.

Date for trilateral talks on Russian natural gas supplies to Ukraine, Europe to be announced early next week - Energy Mininster

Gazprom halted gas supplies to Ukraine in June over its unpaid debt and filed a $4.5 billion suit to the Stockholm arbitration court. Later, Kiev reciprocated by sending a suit to the court against Gazprom for making Ukraine overpay $6 billion for gas since 2010, setting too high prices in its contract.

At a meeting held in Minsk on Tuesday between the leaders of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, which form the Customs Union, EU officials and the Ukrainian president, Russian Energy Minister Novak said that Russia’s position was unchanged and Ukraine must repay its $5 billion debt to continue cooperation with Moscow.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Issues concerning the Ukrainian political situation and the ongoing military conflict in the country’s southeast were avoided during his talks on Friday with EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger.

“We have discussed economic issues only during our meeting,” Novak told journalists following his talks with Oettinger.