Gas is a Commodity, Not a Weapon, Says Gazprom’s Medvedev

Gas contracts came even more under the spotlight in the last hours, with Gazprom promising to honour its deals to supply gas to Germany and the company led by Alexey Miller stating that Ukraine has made no payments despite Sunday's deadline.   

"Gas is no weapon, it's a commodity. We will keep to our contractual obligations towards Germany," Gazprom vice president Alexander Medvedev said in an interview with the German newspaper Handelsblatt.

Russia supplies about 30% of Europe’s natural gas, and more than half of these volumes are still transported via Ukraine.

Last week, Russia's state-controlled company Gazprom  raised the cost of gas to Ukraine by 81% to $485.50 (£292.86, 354.33 euros) from $268.50 for 1,000 cubic metres. Kiev said that the move was politically motivated. Moscow said that the price change was due to Kiev’s failure to pay its gas bills. 

“There have been zero payments from Ukraine,” a Gazprom spokesman told Reuters on Monday, declining to specify what could be the consequences of other eventual delays.