Ukraine hopes to settle gas dispute with Russia in out-of-court procedure - Foreign Ministry
KYIV. Jan 29 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian government has not discussed yet whether Gazprom's $7-billion bill for Ukraine's failure to take in gas imports in full for 2012 will be restructured or repaid, and hopes to tackle the dispute in an out-of-court procedure.
"We have not started discussing this issue so far. Alternative procedures are also possible in line with the contract. I am not responsible for this in the government, but there are quite a number of options to settle this issue in the spirit of friendly relations with Russia in the first place," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara said at a news conference organized by the European Business Association on Tuesday.
Asked whether this issue could be referred to court, he said, "I think friends should make use of out-of-court procedures in the first place."
Kozhara said a restructuring scheme could be used to repay the debt.