MOSCOW, October 16. /TASS/: Ukraine’s wish to continue buying Russian gas through reverse-flow supplies instead of direct deliveries surprises Moscow, Russia Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview aired by Sergey Brilev’s news show on Rossiya-1 on Saturday, adding that Kiev’s payments for gas are 20-30% higher due to that.
"A question arises, why don’t you take gas directly from the Russian Federation instead of the gas that you take off in transit and, consequently, pay 20-30% higher for it. Well, it causes surprise," he said.
In December 2019, Moscow and Kiev agreed to extend the transit of Russian gas through Ukrainian territory from 2020 to 2024, with the possibility of extending the agreement for another ten years. The contract includes the transit of 65 bln cubic meters of gas in 2020 and 40 bln cubic meters annually from 2021 to 2024. The transit arrangement assumes a "take-or-pay" principle, when a transit fee is charged in the amount of the booked capacity, regardless of the actual pumping volume.
