Ukraine Says It Would Buy Russian Gas At $250

Ukrainian Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn says Ukraine is not currently buying gas from Russia's Gazprom and will resume if a price of $250 per 1,000 cubic meters is agreed.

Demchyshyn told a briefing in Kyiv on April 1 that Ukraine expects to sign a memorandum with Russia covering gas supplies through March 2016 within two weeks.

It was not immediately clear whether Russia would agree to the price.

Gazprom has said Ukraine paid $329 per 1,000 cubic meters in the first quarter of the year -- the final period covered by an EU-brokered deal reached in October.

That agreement restored supplies to Ukraine after a months-long hiatus, easing fears that severe tensions between Kyiv and Moscow over Russia's takeover of Crimea and support for rebels in a war in eastern Ukraine would affect supplies of Russian gas to Europe via the transit nation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on March 31 that he supported extending the deal by three months.

Based on reporting by Reuters, TASS, and Interfax