Gazprom wants Ukraine to pay its debt at least partially to discuss compromises

The head of Gazprom, Alexei Miller, said that the company administration could refuse from the initiative to switch Ukraine to payment in advance system in gas supplies if Ukraine could pay the debt for the supplied gas at least partially.

Miller's statement sounded after the tripartite talks in Berlin, with the participation of the EU. When asked about a possibility to refuse from the move to switch Kiev to advance payments from June 3, Miller replied: "Ukraine should start to pay its  debts. This is the starting point."

Answering the question whether Naftogaz of Ukraine should pay off the entire debt to Gazprom worth $3.5 billion (as of the end of April), Miller replied: " They should at least make the first step. There is time left before June 2."

Commenting on the question of whether Gazprom was going to sue Naftogaz at the Stockholm Court about the gas payments, the head of Gazprom said: "Let us consider the questions as they come."

Speaking about possible reductions in the form of preferential export duties, he said that there was a discount pending of $100 per one thousand cubic meters, as in was stipulated in the the Kharkov agreement. "Export duty is only a mechanism," said Miller.