ANKARA
Russia has offered to sell electricity to Ukraine if Kiev agrees to provide it to Crimea, Ukraine's Energy and Coal Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn has said.
His comments came on Friday after a lack of coal have led to electricity cuts and electricity plants not working in Ukraine.
He said in a press meeting: "Ukraine gives 400 megawatts of electricity to Crimea, but needs to decrease the amount due to electricity shortage within the country."
Demchyshyn said that electricity must be imported to fix the situation.
Russia agreed to sell Ukraine electricity on the condition that Ukraine supplies electricity to Crimea, Demchyshyn said, and Ukraine will pay Russia for the natural gas it will use for the first time.
"Ukraine will pay $378 million up front today for the 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas it will buy from Russia by the end of the year," he said.
Russia and Ukraine previously agreed on the terms of an up-front payment and supply of gas under the guarantee of the European Commission.
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