FX.co ★ EU to help Ukraine pay off its natural gas debt

The EU has pledged to help Ukraine to pay off its $2 billion natural gas debt to Gazprom, EU's Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger said, according to AFP. He mentioned that debt payments are an important part of the assistance package from the European Commission to Ukraine. The decision was caused by the fact that the Ukrainian monopolist Naftogaz owes a lot of money to Gazprom with current payments being halted.
According to Chairman of the Management Board of Gazprom Alexey Miller, Ukraine said it was not able to pay February shipments in full. Moreover, it repaid less than half its last year's debt.
At the same time, Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev highlighted that Russia could provide Ukraine will $2-3 billion loan to pay the debt.
President Putin granted Ukraine a discount on Russian natural gas at the end of December 2013 with its cost reduced to $268.5 from over $400 per 1,000 cubic meters. The discount is temporary with expiration date unknown. It was supposed to be approved on a quarterly basis.