Gazprom could take part in a tender to supply natural gas to Ukraine from Europe, Ukraine's Minister of Energy and Coal Industry Volodymyr Demchyshyn has said.

"Communicating with the EBRD, we understand that the winner could be Gazprom, which can pump gas from the western border [of Ukraine], theoretically at least. Let's see how the tender will be held and who will be the winner," he said at a press conference in Kyiv.

The minister noted that under the terms of the loan agreement the EBRD will issue $300 million for natural gas supplies on the western border of Ukraine.

Earlier, Naftogaz Director for Business Development Yuriy Vitrenko noted that the agreement with the EBRD on providing Naftogaz with up to $300 million foresees gas purchase under the EFET contract (the European Federation of Energy Traders).

According to him, Russia's Gazprom is unlikely to agree to sign an EFET contract with Naftogaz Ukrainy, therefore gas would be purchased from European traders.