MOSCOW -- Russia's gas giant Gazprom (IW 1000/16) said Wednesday it was giving Ukraine an extra day to start paying for gas ahead of time or risk a cut in its supply.
"On the request of the Ukrainian side, the deadline for regulating the problems on payments has been postponed to June 10 because June 9 is a public holiday in Ukraine," Gazprom said in a statement.
The announcement came after chief executive Alexei Miller held talks with the head of Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz, Andriy Kobolev, in Berlin.
Gazprom had earlier postponed the deadline from June 3 to 9 after Kiev made an initial payment of $786 million to cover outstanding bills.
Moscow hiked the amount that Ukraine must pay for its gas to $500 (370 euros) per 1,000 cubic metres, the highest price of any of Gazprom's clients in Europe, after the ouster in February of Ukraine's Kremlin-backed president.
Russian gas transiting through Ukraine amounts to about 15% of the gas consumed by the European Union.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2014
