Backgrounder: Russia's gas pipelines
to Europe
MOSCOW, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Russia hopes that an
agreement on the deployment of European Union (EU) monitors in Ukraine will soon
be signed before gas supplies to Europe are restored, Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin said Saturday.
During a meeting with Putin outside Moscow, Czech
Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said the EU had reached an oral agreement with
Kiev for Russian experts to monitor gas transit in Ukraine.
"We have an oral understanding that Russian experts
should be deployed in Ukraine and that an expert monitoring commission be
deployed at the entrance and exit gas stations in the territories of both
Ukraine and Russia," Topolanek was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.
However, Putin insisted on a written deal.
"I hope you will manage to persuade our Ukrainian
partners to sign the documents to create mechanisms of control," Putin told his
Czech counterpart, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency.
He also accused Ukraine of aggravating the gas
crisis.
"Despite the fact that European institutions and you
personally are making efforts to resolve the crisis, Ukraine has further
aggravated it," he told Topolanek.
Russia cut gas supplies to Ukraine on Jan. 1 over a
pricing dispute, and shut down gas flows intended for Europe via Ukraine
Wednesday.
The EU depends on Russia for one-fourth of its gas
supply, the bulk of which comes via Ukraine. The cutoff has left thousands of
European families without heating at the height of winter.
Russia's state gas monopoly Gazprom said Friday it
would resume supplies to Europe via Ukraine if an agreement allowing an EU-led
monitoring team to track gas flows through Ukraine was signed. However, Russian
and Ukrainian officials have continued to argue over the details of the deal.
Topolanek, who arrived in Moscow on Saturday with the
aim of brokering a deal on ending the row, told Putin he would not leave the
region until Russian gas started flowing to Europe again.
EU calls for production hike amid gas
crisis
BRUSSELS, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- European Union (EU) energy
experts urged European producers on Friday to hike production as Russian gas
supplies to Europe via Ukraine remained cut-off.
"The extent of the current gas crisis is
unprecedented in European history," energy experts from the 27 EU member states
said in a statement after a meeting with industry representatives under the
framework of the EU's gas coordination group on Friday in Brussels.Full story
Russia sets conditions to resume gas
flows to Europe via Ukraine
 |
|
Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev (R)
speaks with Gazprom Chief Executive Alexei Miller in Krasnaya Polyana,
near Sochi, January 9, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Photo
Gallery>>> |
MOSCOW, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Russia's state gas monopoly
Gazprom said it would resume supplies to Europe via Ukraine on Friday if an
agreement allowing a EU-led monitoring team to track gas flows through Ukraine
was signed. Full story
EU demands immediate resumption of gas
deliveries
BRUSSELS, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) on
Friday demanded that Russia and Ukraine immediately resume gas deliveries to the
bloc's member states, saying that EU monitors for the process were already in
place.
"There is now agreement on the details of the monitoring
mission. It is now imperative that the gas starts to flow to the EU without any
further delay," the European Commission said in a statement. Full story
EU strikes deal with Russia on gas monitoring
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
