Moscow: Russia`s gas giant Gazprom said today 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 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 USD 500 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 around 15 per cent of gas consumed by the European Union.
