Ukraine to stop buying Russian gas on April 1

Ukraine to stop buying Russian gas on April 1

KIEV -- Ukraine plans to stop buying Russian natural gas on April, Ukraine's Minister of Energy and Coal Industry Vladimir Demchishin said on Monday.

"There is no need to buy Russian gas at the moment. We will simply stop buying it. There is no sense of buying it at a price higher than in Europe," he said, according to Reuters.

The minister also said that he was convinced Russia will have to lower the price, considering that imports of gas from the EU considerably decreased Ukraine's dependence on Gazprom's deliveries.

TASS is reporting that Russia, Ukraine and the EU will hold another meeting in mid-April in Berlin to discuss gas supplies to Ukraine.

Last week Russia's Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak said that the government will consider discounts in the second quarter and that a clause would be adopted on April 1 providing the exporter with guarantees that a certain sum will be paid regardless of how much gas the importer draws.