Moscow, April 1 (IANS) Russian gas monopoly Gazprom said Tuesday it has cancelled discounts on natural gas supplies to Ukraine.
“In the second quarter of 2014, price of gas supplied to Ukraine will be $385.5 (for 1,000 cubic metres),” Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said.
Miller noted that Gazprom would not any more apply the discount agreed with Kiev last December, Xinhua reported.
“Discount has been cancelled due to Ukrainian side’s non-fulfilment of its debt obligations and non-payments in full for the current supplies, which further increases the debt,” he said.
Miller said Russia has also increased the gas transit fees through the Ukrainian pipeline system to Europe by 10 percent.
According to Gazprom, Ukraine’s accumulated debt for gas supplies amounted to $1.71 billion by the end of March.
In December 2013, Moscow and Kiev signed a deal envisaging cutting prices for Russian gas to $268.5 from $400. Under the deal, its prolongation is not done by default and both sides should extend the accord every three months.
In 2010, Russia and Ukraine inked a “gas for fleet” agreement, with Moscow offering a discount for gas in exchange for extending its lease of the Black Sea Fleet in Crimea for 25 more years.
Last week, the Kremlin announced a plan to cancel the discount, saying the accord was no longer valid as Crimea joined Russia after a referendum last month.
The Russian parliament also terminated four agreements with Ukraine over the Black Sea Fleet Monday.