Ukraine's state oil and gas company Naftogaz said on Tuesday it owes the Russian gas trade intermediary RosUkrEnergo, $897 million.
"As of July 1 this year, the debt of Naftogaz to RosUkrEnergo did not exceed 897 million U.S. dollars Out of that total, 650 million U.S. dollars is debt for gas imports which the company acquired in June 2008," Naftogaz said in a statement.
The statement said that RosUkrEnergo owes Naftogaz $141.8 million in transit fees and another middleman, UkrGazEnergo, owes a further 150 million U.S. dollars
However, RosUkrEnergo spokesman Andrei Knutov said on Monday Naftogaz's debt was more than $2 billion, adding that the sum included previous debts.
Naftogaz signed a 2008 supply deal with Russia's energy company Gazprom in April, after weeks of wrangling over Ukraine's debt and a supply cut at the beginning of March.
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Ukraine Owes Russia Over $2bn, Admits Only $897m
However, RosUkrEnergo spokesman Andrei Knutov said Naftogaz's debt was more than $2 billion