Poroshenko: Moscow asked Ukraine to buy Russian gas
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that in the spring, Russia asked Ukraine to buy its gas. However, Kyiv refused.
"All talks about there being rolling blackouts in winter, about Ukraine being left without heating and coal, about Ukrainians not having enough gas in their underground storage facilities, have stopped. We, in spite of the war, have built an economically strong and independent state,” he said on Wednesday during his working visit to Lviv.
“I was pleased when the Russians called our National Joint Stock Company Naftogaz in March and April and said, ‘Listen, can you buy something from us? We are ready to deliver’ and we said, 'No, no, no, we are fine. We have gas from Europe, we have enough and we will talk with you in Stockholm’. We'll talk about how the gas contract was signed, what unfair conditions for Ukraine there were and who was forcing us to our knees,” he said.
Ukraine has not bought Russian gas for almost a year.
In early June, Naftogaz notified Gazprom about its plans to resume gas imports. However, the Ukrainian company wanted all parties to sign an addition to the gas contract, effective for the period of the next three quarters, stating that the price of the gas is to be lower than that of European suppliers.