OREANDA-NEWS. The head of the Naftogaz Ukrainy company, Andrey Kobolev, in an interview with Liga.Biznes, said that Gazprom was really able to recover $ 2.1 billion credited for the gas consumed in 2014-2015, but not fully paid by Ukraine, that is 45 % of compensation awarded to Kiev in arbitration in February 2018. According to him, this amount "almost completely fell into the Ukrainian budget". According to him, along with the accrued interest, Kiev expects to recover another $ 3 billion from the Russian company. “I think we will receive the remaining amount”, Kobolev said.

He also spoke about several potential scenarios for further relations with Gazprom. The most positive Kobolev called the conclusion of a new gas transit contract, which Gazprom could sign with a new operator of the Ukrainian gas transmission system, separated from Naftogaz. According to Kobolev, this option is commercially feasible and meets the logic of the market.

The transit contract between Naftogaz and Gazprom expires on December 31, 2019. Earlier, Russia, Ukraine and the European Union held several rounds of negotiations to further resolve the issue, but specific agreements could not be reached.