Putin: we offer gas to Ukraine for $ 180

Russia is ready to sell gas to Ukraine at $ 180 per thousand cubic meters, but Kiev will buy gas on the reverse reverse principle, as Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday and pointed out the possible reasons for this state of affairs.

Ukraine stopped buying gas from Russia in November 2015, giving priority to reverse deliveries of raw materials from EU countries such as Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. The Russian President suggested that the intermediaries involved in the purchase of gas from Ukraine in Europe should hold “to the heart of some leaders of the fuel and energy complex of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian industry is already paying for gas more than $ 300 per thousand. Cubic meters ".

Putin noted that, as far as he knows, the cost of gas to end consumers in Ukraine already exceeds $ 300 per thousand cubic meters.

“We sell for 180, but they don't want to take from us,” Putin said at the annual meeting of the Valdai Club International Forum, a gathering of renowned experts specializing in the study of Russian foreign and domestic policy. Putin stressed that Russia is ready to resume gas supplies to Ukraine at any time.

“The price will not be higher than for neighboring countries, including Poland. At the moment, Poland, within the framework of its existing obligations, has been buying Russian gas at $ 185 per 1,000 cubic meters, as quoted by Putin's Russian media.

The Russian President also expressed concern over the state of the energy complex in Ukraine. According to him, in order to ensure the implementation of uninterrupted gas supplies to Europe, the required amount of gas must be collected in underground storage facilities for internal use, and to ensure transit.

According to Putin, there is not enough natural gas in Ukrainian warehouses now, because the volume is only 14 billion cubic meters, and should be from 17 to 21 billion. Moreover, as Putin pointed out, Ukraine has already begun to draw gas in underground storage facilities, and this causes concern on the regularity of transit to Europe.