Gazprom Extends Ukraine’s Natural Gas Payment Deadline
Energy | June 5, 2009, Friday
Russian PM Putin (R) shakes hands with Ukrainian PM Timoshenko (L) after Gazprom and Naftogaz signed a deal on gas supply that ended the 19-day gas cutoff, January 2009.
The Russian energy giant Gazprom has extended the deadline for the payment for the natural gas that the Ukraine received in May 2009.
Gazprom has set June 9, Tuesday, as the date when the Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz has to pay it May dues, Interfax reported cited by BGNES.
The extension has been granted because the Russian company took into account the holidays in the Ukraine.
A quoted Gazprom official has pointed out that June 7 was a national holiday in the Ukraine, and even though it would be Sunday, Monday, June 8 is also a day off. That's why the deadline has been set on the 9th.
The official has confirmed that Gazprom had received no money transfers from Naftogaz so far. According to the recent reports, Naftogaz has sufficient funds to pay only 20% of the gas it got in May.
Russia's PM Putin has stated that Ukraine's potential failure to pay its dues might result into a new gas crisis as the one in January 2009 that left much of Europe without natural gas.
Tags: Gazprom, Naftogaz, Russia, Ukraine, natural gas, debt
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