Top executives of German RWE Supply & Trading GmbH, which has been shipping gas for Naftogaz Ukrainy since November 2012, have denied the reports of the talks on giving up re-exporting of Russian gas in order to get lower prices in the long-term contracts with Gazprom.

"The matter of reviewing the price in the contracts with Gazprom and the matter of our gas supplies to Ukraine have nothing in common.... The relations between RWE and Gazprom are one matter, and the RWE-Ukraine relations are another matter. And they are not connected," Chief Executive Officer of RWE Supply & Trading GmbH Stefan Judisch said in an interview with the Dzerkalo Tyzhnia weekly (ZN.UA).

The top manager noted that since 2010, RWE had been in litigations with Gazprom concerning the revision of the gas price. Gazprom has indeed submitted its proposals to RWE concerning changing the price of gas, as it did for other companies that buy Russian gas. Other companies have agreed to these conditions, but RWE has not, as the proposed changes do not fully reflect the changed situation on the gas market, he added.

"According to the procedure under the contract, we have chosen the path of sending a formal claim to arbitration. Its consideration continues. We expect a ruling from the arbitration any day now, and the matter of the use of gas is completely independent from this process. We buy gas, it becomes our property, and we can do with it what we want. And any agreement (compact) to give up gas exports in a particular direction, or cease to use it contradicts European laws on fair competition," Judisch said.

Judisch also said that other large consumers of gas, including gas traders appealed to RWE to supply gas to them. "In principle, we are ready to do that, but first we have to execute a framework agreement with Naftogaz... At present, we cannot do that to the extent, which we and Naftogaz Ukrainy would have liked, for a simple reason that now we can make shipments only through Poland. And the volumes which flow through Poland are lower than those specified in the framework agreement. Therefore we are working together with Ukrainian government, Naftogaz and all market participants to enable gas imports to Ukraine from Germany through the Czech Republic and Slovakia," he said.

As reported, in accordance with the plans and announcements by Gazprom involving a substantial reduction of gas-transit to Europe via Ukraine's gas transport system and its unwillingness to lower the price for Russian gas, Ukraine began using its gas transport capacity in reverse direction.

Ukraine from November 2012 began importing natural gas from Germany through Poland under agreements with RWE Supply & Trading GmbH (Germany). From April 2013, Hungary started natural gas supplies. In addition, Ukraine is in talks with gas transportation operators in Slovakia and Romania on the possibility of pumping natural gas into the gas transportation system of Ukraine.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said that the Russian natural gas that Ukraine buys from German company RWE costs the country $390 per 1,000 cubic meters which is $100 less than the Russian gas that Ukraine buys on the border with Russia.