Naftogaz Ukrainy CEO Andriy Kobolev suspects that Gazprom's statement on the readiness to lower the price of gas for Ukraine contains unacceptable conditions and insists on a trilateral format of negotiations with the participation of representatives from the European Union.

"We are always ready for negotiations, but only in a trilateral format. Any new contracts must be signed on the basis of European norms and with respect for the decisions of international arbitrations," he wrote on his Facebook page.

Kobolev noted that the Stockholm arbitration revised the contact between Gazprom and Naftogaz for gas supply, recognizing a number of its conditions as discriminatory and obliging Russians to sell gas to Ukraine in the first quarter of 2019 at $300 for 1,000 cubic meters, and in the second quarter for $221, but for some reason Gazprom refuses to do it.

The company head said instead of this the Ukrainian company buys gas in Europe at a significantly lower price: in the first quarter for $259, in the second quarter for $212, while the price for July is set at $178.