Russian energy giant Gazprom said Thursday that it had received
payment in full from Ukraine's national energy company Naftogaz for
natural gas supplied in February, RIA Novosti informed.
The Russian company confirmed Naftogaz's earlier statement that it had
settled accounts for February supplies, totaling $360 million.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said earlier Thursday that Russia may
have to cut off natural gas supplies to Ukraine, and via Ukraine to
Europe, if Kiev failed to pay in full for gas delivered in February.
In line with agreements reached earlier in Moscow, Ukraine must pay for
each month's gas supplies by the 7th day of the following month. If
payment is not made, the contract envisions a transfer to an advance
payments system.
Gazprom suspended gas deliveries to Ukraine on January 1 over
non-payment, and the sides' failure to reach a new gas deal. A week
later, Gazprom accused Ukraine of stealing gas intended for EU
consumers and cut off gas deliveries to the European Union via the
country, prompting two weeks of gas shortfalls across much of Eastern
Europe.
The standoff was resolved after negotiations between Russian Prime
Minister Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Yulia Tymoshenko
resulted in the signing of a new gas agreement on January 19.
The Gazprom statement came a day after masked Ukrainian Security
Service agents raided the headquarters of Naftogaz on Wednesday,
sparking criticism from the prime minister.
The SBU security service, which is overseen by President Viktor
Yushchenko, has accused Naftogaz of illegally diverting 6.3 billion
cubic meters of natural gas bought from Russia.
Following news of the raid, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said the
sole aim of the operation was to "paralyze Naftogaz's activities and
destroy the gas distribution system in Ukraine and the system of
payments. They wanted to frighten people."
Naftogaz spokesman Valentyn Zemlyanskiy said earlier that the security
service personnel demanded to be shown all the original documentation
concerning the January 19 gas deal between Naftogaz and Russian gas
giant Gazprom. However, he said the documents were not seized.
