BRUSSELS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Russia restarted
pumping gas into Ukraine's southern pipeline early on Tuesday, but Europe said
it hasn't seen any significant rise in gas flow.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso
spoke by phone to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, expressing
disappointment over the lack of natural gas flowing to Europe.
EU monitors on the ground reported that only very
little gas is flowing through the pipelines. Barroso voiced his "disappointment
with both the level of gas flowing to Europe" and the lack of access "of our
monitors to dispatch centers," said his aide.
Russian gas monopoly Gazprom's employees
seen in Gazprom's main control room in Moscow January 13, 2009.
(Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
According to Russian gas giant Gazprom, international
observers monitoring the gas flow in Ukraine's pipelines have said that Kiev is
blocking the transit of Russian gas to Europe.
"The international monitoring commission's observers
in Kiev signed a report which testifies to no pumping of Russian gas through
Ukraine's transit pipelines to Europe, while the pressure in the pipeline at the
border with Ukraine is 70 atmosphere," Gazprom said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Ukraine accused Russia of trying to
discredit it by sending natural gas bound for Europe on a technically
"unacceptable" transit route over Ukraine's pipeline system.
"Russia shipped natural gas along a route that would
require Ukraine to cut domestic consumers out before it can deliver gas to the
Balkans," Ukrainian energy adviser Bohdan Sokolovski told reporters.
An employee walks at Russian gas export
monopoly Gazprom's Sudzha pumping station January 13, 2009.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
He said a gas entry point on the Russian border and a
gas pumping station near the Romanian border where Russia wants its gas
delivered is not linked by an export pipeline. That means Ukraine has to cut
service to its eastern industrial regions first.
Moscow cut off gas supplies to Ukraine on Jan. 1
after the two sides failed to reach a new deal for 2009 and resolve differences
over payments due.
As the tensions between the two built up, Russia shut
off all gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine on Jan. 7, accusing Ukraine of
stealing gas intended for Europe.
Countries from Turkey to the Baltics were greatly
affected by the supply cut as Europe experienced an unusually cold winter.
General view of the gas pumping station
at Ukrainian settlement of Orlovka, about 280 km (174 miles) west of the
Black Sea port of Odessa, January 13, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
Bulgaria and Slovakia, two of the worst hit EU
countries, were sending their prime ministers to Moscow in hopes for an early
end to the gas row.
Bulgaria's Sergei Stanishev and Slovakia's Robert
Fico will visit Moscow on Wednesday, Putin confirmed Tuesday.
"I have just spoken to the prime ministers of
Bulgaria and Slovakia, and we came to an agreement that tomorrow we are meeting
in Moscow in order to look at the current situation," Interfax quoted Putin as
saying.
EU countries rely heavily on gas imports and 80
percent of the gas they buy from Russia is shipped through Ukraine.
This is not the first time that EU nations have
suffered in the fallout of a Russia-Ukraine gas dispute, with the bitter memory
of the 2006 energy crisis still vivid for many Europeans.
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) Photo
Gallery>>>
KIEV, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Russia is trying hard to
discredit Ukraine by sending natural gas bound for Europe on a technically
"unacceptable" transit route over Ukraine's pipeline system, Ukrainian energy
adviser Bohdan Sokolovski said on Tuesday.
"Russia shipped natural gas along a route that would
require Ukraine to cut domestic consumers out before it can deliver gas to the
Balkans," Sokolovski told reporters. Full story
MOSCOW, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Slovak and Bulgarian prime
ministers will visit Moscow on Wednesday to discuss issues surrounding gas
supplies to Europe, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Tuesday.
"I have just spoken to the prime ministers of
Bulgaria and Slovakia, and we came to an agreement that tomorrow we are meeting
in Moscow in order to look at the current situation," Interfax quoted Putin as
saying. Full story
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
BRUSSELS, Jan. 12
(Xinhua) -- Russia will restore gas supply to Europe Tuesday after an
interruption of nearly a week, the European Union (EU) said Monday.
Russia had promised to start pumping natural gas again to
the 27-nation bloc via Ukraine after a deal on a monitoring mission was finally
agreed upon, said Czech Industry and Trade Minister Martin Riman, whose country
holds the EU's rotating presidency. Full story
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
