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No Russian Aid to Ukraine If Gas Bill Unpaid - Minister

08 February 2014 23:21 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Ukraine will receive the second tranche of Russia’s $15 billion in financial aid only after it pays its gas arrears, the Russian finance minister said Saturday, APA reports quoting RIA Novosti.

“We are waiting for the Ukrainian side to pay its gas bill, quite a hefty one. The payment was due in late January, but hasn’t been made to date,” Anton Siluanov said.

The minister said Russia was to receive $2.7 billion from Ukraine by January 25 under a repayment plan for debts accumulated in previous years.

“As far as I know, this year’s gas payments have been made according to schedule,” Siluanov said.

Crisis-hit Ukraine currently owes Russia about $3.3 billion in unpaid natural gas bills, Russia’s state-owned gas monopoly Gazprom said Monday, in an apparent reminder that the long-running dispute over fuel supplies has not been solved by a recent price cut agreement.