Ukraine seeks to return to talks with Russia on the price of Russian gas and the possibility of resuming supplies of Russian gas in the trilateral format with participation of the European Commission.

"The issue was raised at recent negotiations of the Ukrainian prime minister with European Commission Vice-President [Maros] Sefcovic. We hope that we will return to the trilateral format of the talks with Russians. It could have some effect," Naftogaz Ukrainy Head Andriy Kobolev said on Channel 5 TV late on Wednesday.

He recalled that Ukraine currently does not import gas from Russia, as there is no agreement with Gazprom. The supplementary contract on gas supply has not been signed. Naftogaz Ukrainy believes that it is impossible to resume imports of Russian gas without it.

Kobolev said that Ukraine is able to pump around 14.5 billion cubic meters of gas by the start of the heating season without restoration of gas supplies from Russia. However, the possibility of importing gas not only from Europe, but also from Russia via the signing of the supplementary agreement would be good for us.

"We always want to optimize the portfolio and buy gas at the lowest price," he said.

He added that at present the company uses own funds to import gas from the European Union and pumps it to underground storage facilities. In August the holding plans to start buying gas using the $300 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and in September – the $500 million loan from the World Bank.