EU expects resumption of gas supplies on Tuesday_English

BRUSSELS, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- The European Union said here on Monday that it expects Russian gas to resume flowing to Europe on Tuesday morning as Ukraine gave up its unilateral demand attached to the original deal.

"In the morning Ukraine gave up its unilateral declaration and gas supplies will start via Ukraine to the EU tomorrow morning," Czech Industry Minister Martin Riman told a press conference after chairing an EU energy ministers' extraordinary meeting. The Czech Republic now holds the rotating EU presidency.

The European Union said here on Monday that it expects Russian gas to resume flowing to Europe on Tuesday morning as Ukraine gave up its unilateral demand attached to the original deal.

A worker walks at a measuring station of the Russian gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine pipelines, in Uzhgorod, western Ukraine, Jan. 12, 2008. The EU said on Sunday that its monitors had already reached most of their destination points and were already starting their monitoring work, a key condition Russia has insisted on before resuming gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine pipelines. (Xinhua/Ukrinform/Sergei Gudak)
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Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs echoed the minister on the same occasion, saying: "We expect that the gas will start to flow at 8:00 (Central Europe time) (0700 GMT) on Tuesday."

"The Ukraine gas company assured us that (they are) doing the utmost they could (to) guarantee transit for 10 to 12 hours ... that means in about 24 hours that gas is back to consumers," Piebalgs said.

According to the Czech presidency, Russian representatives promised to reopen the taps following the signing by all parties of an agreement on monitoring the transit route for Russian gas, in Brussels before the extraordinary meeting of EU energy ministers.

Ukraine re-signed the deal, removing obstacles to restart Russian gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine. Piebalgs put the last signature under the protocol on monitoring Russian gas supplies.

But neither Piebalgs nor Riman seemed relieved by the latest progress. Piebalgs warned that if gas supplies could not resume on Tuesday morning, it would be clear "who to blame" for the cutoff of the supplies.

Medvedev: Russia not to resume gas supply to EU till deal revised

MOSCOW, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Russia will not apply a protocol on gas transit to its clients in the European Union until Ukraine retrieves its additional conditions in the contract, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday.

"Such reservations and additions are nothing but mockery of common sense and violation of earlier agreements. In fact, they aim to thwart gas transit control," Itar-Tass news agency quoted Medvedev as saying during a meeting with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Full story

PM: Ukraine to use Russia gas as "technical gas"

KIEV, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said on Monday that it was up to Russia to provide "technical gas" needed to maintain pipeline pressure and keep supplies flowing in additional to the amounts actually due for delivery to customers in the European Union.

"Ukraine cannot unfortunately supply the gas to the European Union" without an additional 21 million cubic meters of "technical gas" per day from Russia, Tymoshenko told reporters during a visit to Yevpatoriya in southern Ukraine, according to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency. Full story

EU demands immediate gas flow after monitoring deal

BRUSSELS, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) demanded on Sunday that Russian gas flow to the 27-nation bloc via Ukraine be immediately resumed after a monitoring deal was finally clinched.

"We now need the gas to flow immediately to the EU," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in a statement after Ukraine, Russia and the EU struck an agreement Sunday to set up an international commission to monitor Russian gas transit via Ukraine. Full story