Russia’s energy minister on Friday questioned Ukraine’s ability to pay for Russian natural gas and said state-controlled OAO Gazprom will ask that deliveries scheduled in June be paid for upfront, which he said poses a risk of supply disruption to European customers. Ukraine owes more than $3.5 billion for Russian natural gas, said Energy Minister Alexander Novak after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart, Yuriy Prodan and European Union energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger. Kiev and Moscow have long quarreled over the price of natural gas Gazprom charges Ukraine’s state-owned energy firm Naftogaz. As of April 1, Russia nearly doubled what it charges Ukraine to $485.50 per 1,000 cubic meters from $268.50 per 1,000 cubic meters. Mr. Prodan said Kiev isn’t ready to pay the price demanded by Gazprom, which supplies about 30% of Europe’s gas needs, with around half of that traveling through pipes that cross Ukraine. “We have discriminatory gas […]