EU set to help Ukraine pay gas bills - Oettinger

European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger is working on a plan to help Ukraine pay its gas bills to Russia, he told Austria's ORF radio on Friday, saying there was "no reason to panic" about Russian gas supplies to Europe.
   
"We are in close contact with Ukraine and its gas company to ensure that Ukraine remains able to pay and the debts that the gas company has to Gazprom do not rise further," he said, adding he would meet Ukraine's energy and foreign ministers on Monday.
   
"I am preparing a solution that is part of the aid package that the IMF, the European Union and the World Bank is giving to Ukraine and from which payment for open bills will be possible."

Ukraine needs to buy gas "urgently" from Europe via reverse flows, and hopes to secure deals from Germany's RWE and a French gas company, Energy Minister Yuri Prodan said earlier.
   
"We will make gas purchases from reverse flows urgently. On the conditions offered by European gas companies. We plan that they will be Germany's RWE and a French gas company," he said in a speech to parliament.

This as German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said he and other top finance officials from the Group of Seven developed nations (G7) had agreed to work together to solve the Ukraine crisis, and that Russia must be a part of the solution.
   
Schaeuble added that he expected Ukraine to be mentioned in the communiques of the G20 and IMF.
   
"We were all agreed that we must solve this problem together," he said in Washington. Russia must be part of the solution and "we don't want to make this difficult for Russia," he added.

This comes as a draft of the communique by the Group 20 finance ministers and central bankers noted that the world's top economies are monitoring the economic situation in Ukraine "for any risks to economic and financial stability."
   
The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank remain best placed to help countries deal with their "economic challenges through policy advice and catalytic financing," the draft, which was obtained by Reuters on Friday, says in the same section.
   
In another section that appeared to address the spillover effects of the monetary policies of advanced economies, the draft of the G20 communique pledges to provide "clear and timely communication" of its actions, with an eye on the effects on the global economy as policies are "recalibrated."

On another note, Interfax news agency reported that Moscow will not extradite Viktor Yanukovich to Ukraine, Russia's chief prosecutor said on Friday, calling the ousted leader Ukraine's "fully fledged, legitimate president".
   
Ukraine's new authorities started the process of seeking Yanukovich's extradition in late February, shortly after he fled Kiev and went to Russia following three months of protests over his turn away from Europe and towards Russia.

In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for legal guarantees of Ukraine's neutrality, underlining Moscow's opposition to Kiev joining NATO.
   
Russian news agencies quoted Lavrov as saying Moscow was ready for four-party talks next week with the United States, the European Union and representatives of Ukraine and suggested Ukraine's gas debt to Moscow should be on the agenda.

On Thursday, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told U.S. Secretary Jack Lew that Moscow was concerned about Ukraine's unpaid debt for supplies of natural gas, but was ready to work with international partners on financial aid for Kiev.
   
"A concern was expressed about Ukraine's growing debt for Russian gas supplies, particularly in the context of preparations for the winter season of 2014-2015," Siluanov told journalists after meeting Lew on the sidelines of the World Bank-International Monetary Fund spring meeting in Washington.
   
"Russia is ready to participate in supporting Ukraine together with the IMF and the European Union," Siluanov said.
   
He also said he had told his U.S counterpart that the inclusion of Crimea into Russian territory was legal.

Also on Thursday, President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel talked about potential further sanctions for Russia over its actions in Ukraine, calling again on Moscow to move its troops back from the border region, the White House said.

The administration said pro-Russian separatists, "apparently with support from Moscow," were destabilizing Ukraine through "an orchestrated campaign of incitement and sabotage."

"The President underscored the need for the United States, European Union, and other global partners to be prepared to meet further Russian escalation with additional sanctions," the White House said in a statement about the phone call.