"We'll repay the $380 million for September by the weekend and will then start repaying our October arrears," Ihor Didenko, deputy chairman of the Naftogaz management board, said.
Russian state-run energy giant Gazprom said on Tuesday that Naftogaz had pledged to repay its debt for Russian gas supplies in September and partially for October by December 1. The statement followed talks between Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and Naftogaz head Oleh Dubina.
Russia has put Ukraine's debt at $2.4 billion, including fines and arrears. Until recently, the gas was sold via the Swiss trader RosUkrEnergo, in which Gazprom holds a 50% stake.
RosUkrEnergo was established in July 2004 on a parity basis between Gazprom and Naftogaz as the exclusive supplier of natural gas to Ukraine.
Didenko said Naftogaz owes RosUkrEnergo around $2 billion. Naftogaz Deputy Board Chairman Volodymyr Trikolych said last week the company's debt to RosUkrEnergo stood at around $1.3 billion and that Naftogaz had no debt to Gazprom.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered Gazprom last week to recover Ukraine's debt, stressing the importance of receiving full payment for gas supplies given financial pressure on Russia due to the credit crunch and falling oil prices.
Ukraine currently pays $179.5 per 1,000 cubic meters for gas imported from Russia or via Russian territory. "If we switch to free market relations in the sphere of gas supplies, the price for Ukraine could be more than $400 as of January 1, 2009," Gazprom CEO Miller told Medvedev last week.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Tymoshenko agreed at the start of October on a memorandum for direct gas supplies from Gazprom and Naftogaz with a gradual shift to market prices. The full repayment of Ukraine's gas debt was fixed as a condition.
