Ukraine can get by without buying Russian gas before the end of the year, Energy Minister Eduard Stavytsky said on Wednesday.
"We reckon that up to the end of the year we can do without buying Russian gas. In the first ten days of November, we got by without any gas imports," he told reporters before a cabinet meeting.
The decision by the Ukrainian state oil and gas company Naftogaz last Friday to suspend imports sparked fears of a possible new dispute that might affect supplies of Russian gas also to Europe.
Naftogaz' June 2014 dollar bond yield rose more than one percentage point on Wednesday, to a record high above 20 percent.
Stavytsky's words confirmed reports that the former Soviet republic, which has protested repeatedly to Russia over the high price it pays for natural gas deliveries, feels it has enough gas in storage to meet the needs of domestic consumers for the time being.
He made no comment about onward deliveries across Ukraine to Europe, but government officials say they do not see any reason for a disruption in supplies.
Pricing disputes between Russia and Ukraine sparked disruption of onward supplies of gas to Europe in the winters of 2006 and 2009.
Ukraine pays around $400 per 1,000 cubic metres of Russian gas - one of the highest prices in Europe and a burden which weighs heavily on its debt-strapped economy. It has been steadily reducing its Russian gas intake.
The ex-Soviet republic, which plans to import 27.3 billion cubic metres of gas this year for its own needs, including 26 bcm from Russia, had about 19 bcm of gas in underground storage vaults as of the end of October.
Source: Reuters
