MOSCOW, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev said on Wednesday that gas deliveries would resume if Ukraine pays
market rates for the Russian gas, news agencies here reported.
In a telephone conversation with his Ukrainian
counterpart Viktor Yushchenko, Medvedev urged the latter to take immediate
action to reach necessary understandings and renew Russian gas transit to
Europe.
"Gazprom and Naftogaz must sign a contract at
European market prices to resume gas supplies to Ukraine ... There must not be
any discounts or special rates at all," Medvedev was quoted by Interfax as
saying in a Kremlin press service statement.
The resumption of gas supplies also requires a
control mechanism with the involvement of Russian and Ukrainian energy
officials, EU observers and international legal firms, he said.
The Russian president added that the debt problem has
not been settled and Ukraine must pay the debts in full as soon as possible.
Russia cut off gas supplies to Ukraine on Jan. 1
after the two countries failed to reach an agreement on gas prices for 2009.
Earlier in the day, Russia ceased deliveries to Europe through Ukraine entirely
after accusing Kiev of "stealing" the transit gas.
About a quarter of the gas used in the European Union
-- more than 40 percent of the bloc's imports -- comes from Russia.
Ukraine sits on the main transit route for Russia's
gas exports, with about 80 percent of Russian gas supplied to the EU passing
through the Ukrainian territory.
A similar dispute over gas prices between Kiev and
Moscow erupted in 2006 when Gazprom cut all gas supplies to Ukraine, raising
deep concerns among European customers.
BRUSSELS, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- All Russian gas supplies
to Europe through Ukraine were cut off on Wednesday as a gas row between Russia
and Ukraine escalated, prompting the European Union (EU) to send monitors to
check the gas flow.
"We really hope that the Russians put the gas in the
... Ukrainian network and that Ukrainians do not interrupt the gas from Russia
coming to the European Union," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso
told reporters in Prague after a meeting with the Czech EU presidency. Full story
MOSCOW, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Wednesday
approved a proposal by the state-run gas monopoly Gazprom to completely cut off
supplies to Europe via Ukraine.
During a meeting with Putin in the northern city of St. Petersburg, Gazprom
CEO Alexei Miller proposed to stop gas supplies through Ukraine, accusing Kiev
of "stealing" gas in transit. Full story
SOFIA, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Bulgaria is going to receive
part of the five billion euro that the European Union had set aside to tackle
the global financial crisis in order to deal with the effects of the cutoff of
gas supplies as a result of the Russia-Ukraine price dispute, the Government
Information Service reported Wednesday night. Full story
SOFIA, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Bulgaria faces no austerity
measures in electricity consumption, and no termination of central heating, and
its economy could function for up to 100 days on the country's reserves,
Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov announced Wednesday. Full story
BRUSSELS, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- The natural gas shortfalls
caused by a Russia-Ukraine dispute demonstrate the need for the European Union
(EU) to reconsider the role for natural gas as a bridging fuel to sustainable
energy, said the WWF on Wednesday.Full story
