Ukraine taps Russia for gas

Ukraine has asked Russia to resume supplying gas to the country for nine months, the countries said Tuesday, after a festering pricing dispute fuelled by political tensions.

Ukraine in November halted gas purchases from Russia, ratcheting up tensions between Kiev and Moscow over Russia's annexation of Crimea and the pro-Russian insurgency in Ukraine's east.

"We received (on Monday) an official letter from the head of (Ukraine state energy firm) Naftogaz asking to resume deliveries of Russian gas," Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said in a statement.

Miller added that Naftogaz requested the resumption of Russian gas deliveries for a nine-month period spanning from the second half of 2016 to the first quarter of next year.

Naftogaz later confirmed that it offered Gazprom the chance to be one of the company's "potential suppliers" but warned that it would only buy Russian gas for an advantageous price.

"Naftogaz's position has remained unchanged for the past year and a half: buying gas from Gazprom is possible if the Russian company offers a lower price than Naftogaz's European suppliers," the Ukrainian company said in a statement.

Russia and Ukraine -- locked in a bitter feud since Moscow's annexation of Crimea in March 2014 -- have been involved in a festering gas pricing dispute that has seen supplies repeatedly cut off.

In October, Moscow moved to a deal that saw Kiev switch to a pre-payment system, meaning that cash-strapped Ukraine was obliged to pay in advance to cover Russian gas deliveries.

Kiev in November announced that it would not make the advance payments requested by Russia.

Some 15 percent of the gas used in Europe travels through Ukraine, and the EU has been involved in mediating the dispute between the two sides.