KIEV ?— Ukraine paid in full and on time its last monthly bill of 2009 for Russian gas, state energy firm Naftogaz said Wednesday, referring to the steepest payment that it had to make for that year worth almost $900 million.
Ukraine’s late payments in previous years have caused feuds with Moscow that a year ago lasted three weeks and led to gas supply cuts to Europe, leaving millions out in the cold.
This year, as Ukraine gears up to a presidential election on Jan. 17, officials in both Moscow and Kiev have said a “gas war” would be avoided. Ukraine has paid every bill on time in 2009, despite a crippling economic crisis.
“Yes, we have paid up,” a Naftogaz spokesman said. The cash-strapped energy firm had until Monday to pay the bill that Energy Minister Yury Prodan said amounted to $892 million.
The finances of the state energy firm Naftogaz have been stretched for several years as it pays ever-higher prices for gas but is forced to sell it domestically at still subsidized tariffs.
Last year, the government helped Naftogaz pay its bills in a variety of ways, including through the issue of domestic short-term bonds, which have subsequently been bought by the central bank or a state bank using freshly printed money.
President Viktor Yushchenko, a rival of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, repeated his criticism of the government’s handling of Naftogaz’s finances and demanded that the central bank help.
A Finance Ministry official had already said the central bank and the government would come up with the payment.
“Acting Finance Minister Ihor Umansky is at the central bank at the moment,” a deputy finance minister told reporters. “They are looking over this problem, and then we will pay on time.”