Russia and Ukraine have been sent back to the drawing board after overnight negotiations failed to produce a hotly anticipated resolution on restoring natural gas flows between the two countries.
The same trio – Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuri Prodan, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger – will gather around the negotiation table once again in a bid to finally agree mutual terms.
“Our common ambition is to come to an interim solution, a winter package to solve our security of supply challenges for next winter, from now until the end of March,” Oettinger said.
At stake is a critical 15% of the EU’s energy needs, which is piped from Russia through Ukraine. Previous disputes in 2006 and 2009 caused chronic shortages at the height of winter.
The dispute stretches back to June when Gazprom culled exports to its Ukrainian partner NAK Naftogaz Ukrainy over unpaid bills.
The first debt installment – a total $1.45billion – is due in the coming days. Ukraine would then need to produce an additional $1.6billion to pay for future deliveries –something it’s struggling to do.
However, The EU is close to approving about $1billion in extra funds for Ukraine in a bid to ease its financial burden.
Talks will resume this evening.