The heads of Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukrainy, Alexei Miller and Andriy Kobolev, discussed "the terms for purchase by Naftogaz of Gazprom gas in the first quarter of 2016" at a meeting in Berlin on Wednesday.

They also discussed issues connected with provision of uninterrupted transit of Russian gas through Ukraine to Europe, Gazprom reported.

The Russian side sets a price for Naftogaz by providing a discount to a special customs duty that uses the spot price of gas in Europe as a benchmark. Gazprom Deputy CEO Valery Golubev recently said that the calculated price of gas for Ukraine in the first quarter (without discount) equals $230 per 1,000 cubic meters. Forward contracts on gas at European hubs are currently trading at around $170 per 1,000 cubic meters.

Gazprom earlier requested a letter of guarantee from Naftogaz concerning the volume of gas offtake in the first quarter.