¡¡BRUSSELS, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The European Union announced it has
reached agreement with Russia on supervising the flow of gas through Ukraine,
paving the way for an end to the energy crisis throughout the Europe.
A gas valve is seen at German energy
giant E.ON's Hungarian natural gas storage facility in Hajduszoboszlo,
about 200 km (124 miles) east of Budapest Jan 7, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin agreed Thursday
on the terms for the installation of gas monitors in Ukraine in a surprising
breakthrough after EU-sponsored talks here broke down over the monitoring issue
only hours earlier.
Russia's gas giant Gazprom had insisted that Russians
be among the observers in Ukraine while Kiev had agreed to install EU, not
Russian, monitors in supervising flows of Russian gas through Ukraine.
To break the deadlock, Czech Prime Minister Mirek
Topolanek, whose country holds the EU presidency, discussed the issue over phone
with Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday, and reached a deal
with his Russian counterpart on how to deploy the observers.
"This deployment should lead to the restoration of
the Russian supplies of gas to EU member states," the Czech government said in a
statement.
Russia cut supplies for Ukraine's domestic market on
Jan. 1 over a payments dispute. It shut off all gas supplies to Europe via
Ukraine on Wednesday, accusing Ukraine of stealing gas intended for Europe.
A pressure gauge is seen at a Ukrainian
gas compressor station in the village of Boyarka near Kiev Jan. 4, 2009.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
The EU, which imports about a quarter of natural gas
from Russia, had previously tried to stay out of the spat, but when the gas
supplies of their member nations were threatened, they felt compelled to get
involved.
Countries including Romania, Bulgaria, Greece,
Macedonia, Croatia, Serbia and Turkey have suffered a complete shutoff of gas
supplies from Russia, while France, Germany, Austria, Poland and Hungary have
reported substantial drops in gas deliveries from there.
The EU countries have been relying heavily on gas
imports and 80 percent of the gas they buy from Russia is shipped through
Ukraine. This is not the first time they suffer from a Russia-Ukraine gas
dispute, and the bitter memory of the 2006 energy crisis was still vivid for
many Europeans.
The central European nations like Bulgaria and
Slovakia, which rely solely on Russia for gas supplies, are among the
hardest-hit and even heating has become a problem for many households in the
countries.
Their governments are forced to restrict industrial
consumption to ensure household supply in the freezing winter temperatures, and
many factories have been temporarily closed.
Russia's Gazprom and Ukraine's state-run gas company
Naftogaz stepped up efforts for a solution to their dispute under increasing
pressures from Europe, and their representatives have met thrice in the past 48
hours.
BRUSSELS, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of Europeans
will remain without Russian gas amid freezing weather as talks brokered by the
European Union (EU) between Russia and Ukraine failed to make the two sides
agree on an international monitoring mission on Thursday.
The Czech EU presidency said it was Russian gas
monopoly Gazprom that rejected a gas monitoring plan agreed upon by both the EU
and Ukraine. Full story
BRUSSELS, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU)
reached a deal with Russia on the deployment of monitors to check gas flow via
Ukraine, paving the way for the resumption of Russian gas supplies to Europe,
the Czech EU presidency said late Thursday. "The Czech
Prime Minister and the Russian Prime Minister agreed on the conditions of
deployment of the monitoring commission at all locations that are relevant for
the flow of gas," the Czech government said in a statement. Full story
MOSCOW, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) --
Russia will charge Ukraine full market price for natural gas and is prepared to
pay a market rate for gas transit via Ukraine, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
said on Thursday.
"We believe Ukraine must pay a market price and we are
ready to pay a market-based fee for gas transit," Putin told journalists at his
residence outside Moscow. Full story
BRUSSELS, Jan. 8
(Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) held emergency talks here Thursday with
Russian gas monopoly Gazprom and Ukraine's state-run gas company Naftogaz in a
bid to solve the pricing dispute between the two neighbors, which has created a
supply crisis in some EU nations.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso met
Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and Naftogaz head Oleg Dubyna separately. But there
was no immediate information about the outcome of the talks.
Full story
PARIS, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- French Prime
Minister Francois Fillonon Wednesday described the cut of Russian gas supplies
to Europe via Ukraine as "totally unacceptable," saying that the move has caused
the shortage of gas supplies in Europe.
"The Prime Minister believes the current situation represents a challenge for
all of Europe ... The non-observance of contracts signed is totally
unacceptable," said a statement issued by the PM's office after a meeting on gas
supplies in France. Full story
BEIJING, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Russia cut
off all natural gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine Wednesday, which has
greatly affected gas supplies to Europe.
Russia is the world's largest natural gas producer and exporter. A
major consumer of Russian gas, Europe imports one fourth of its gas needs from
Russia. Russia has built a number of pipelines delivering gas produced in
Siberia and Central Asia to Europe. Full story
PRAGUE, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- The current dispute between
Russia and Ukraine over gas supply is not a European affair, but an economic
issue between Russia and Ukraine, Czech President Vaclav Klaus said on
Wednesday.
Klaus, whose country is holding the rotating European
Union (EU) presidency, made the comments at a meeting with visiting members of
the European Commission. Full story
