Ukraine Expects Gas Deal with Russia on Sept. 25

A new gas deal to supply Russian gas to Ukraine is likely to be signed this Friday, Ukrainian energy minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

Moscow and Kiev agreed last year on a winter package for supplies with a price discount of $100 per thousand cubic metres and advance payments. That agreement expired on July 1 and has yet to be replaced.

"The position has already been formed and I think that the meeting will take place on Friday, and the protocol will be signed," Interfax Ukraine news agency quoted Demchyshyn as saying.

Demchyshyn said last week that Ukraine expected to reach a winter gas deal with Moscow by the end of this week and that $220 per 1,000 cubic metres (tcm) was an acceptable price for supplies from Russia.

Moscow, which offers the price at around $250 per tcm, has said it will not give Ukraine any additional gas price discount for winter deliveries and the price will be calculated based on the formula agreed in a contract between Moscow and Kiev.

Reporting by Pavel Polityuk