„During the last rounds of talks, let‘s not conceal it, the pre-election situation had its influence on Ukrainian side,“ Chizhov told Russian agency RIA Novosti. The only unresolved problem, he said, was where to get the money from for winter supplies.
Ukraine‘s Naftogaz has set aside $3.1 billion in a special escrow account to pay off a chunk of its debt to Gazprom, but Russia is also demanding prepayment for winter supplies before it is willing to turn the taps back on.