DISINFO: Ukraine admits that Russian gas imports are profitable
SUMMARY
Ukraine has recognized the commercial profitability of Russian gas imports, since Naftogaz Ukrainian state gas company chairman Andriy Kobelev has said so.
RESPONSE
In an interview with Ukraine’s Channel 5 television station, Andriy Kobelev explained that the Stockholm Arbitration Tribunal overruled the 2009 Ukraine-Russia gas contract and ruled that instead of purchasing over 50 billion cubic meters of gas from Russia, Ukraine must purchase only 4-5, and only until the end of 2019, the year the contract expires. The court also ruled that the purchase price for Russian gas should be less than what Ukraine pays for gas it buys from Europe. Kobelev did not say that buying Russian gas was commercially profitable for Ukraine. What he said is that the Tribunal ruling changes the rules of the contract, reduces the amount Ukraine must purchase from 52 billion cubic meters to a minimum of 4 billion cubic meters and lowers the gas price to less than what Ukraine currently pays for gas imported from Europe. Buying half of the country’s gas requirements from Russia at these reduced prices would be commercially viable for Ukraine, Kobelev explained. Further debunking at Stopfake www.stopfake.org/en/fake-ukraine-admits-russian-gas-imports-profitable/, .