Ukraine makes gas payment

Naftogaz, the national oil and gas company of Ukraine, made the payment Monday morning, the Energy Ministry told Interfax news agency. Moscow says Ukraine owes it some $5.2 billion in gas debt in total.

A spokeswoman for the Energy Ministry confirmed to Reuters news agency Monday's payment was for February and March.

Following the payment, Russia's state gas company Gazprom pushed back its ultimatum to June 9 for Ukraine to pay its debts. Gazprom had threatened to cut off supplies to Ukraine if Naftogaz fails to clear its $5.2 billion debt, saying from Tuesday it would only deliver gas that had already been paid for.

Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said in a statement on Monday that the decision to only supply prepaid gas would depend on whether Ukraine pays off its $2.24 billion debt for gas delivered before April 1 and on "progress" of paying off for April and May.

"Payment for May should be done before June 9," Miller said, effectively providing a six-day extension to Gazprom's deadline.

The European Union's Energy Commissioner, Günther Oettinger, had said on Friday that a partial $786 million payment was on its way. The move cleared the way for Monday's fourth round of gas negotiations, mediated by Oettinger.

Ukraine wants Russia to lower its gas price of $268.50 per 1,000 cubic meters - a discounted price that Moscow halted when Kyiv's pro-Kremlin President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in February. Russia is now demanding $485 per 1,000 cubic meters, the highest price paid by any client.

The ongoing Moscow-Kyiv dispute has fueled concern over energy supplies for Europe, which gets a third of its gas from Russia.

dr/hc (Reuters, dpa, AFP)