Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Secondary Navigation
Africa
Europe
Latin America
Middle East
North America
Search
Search:
Gazprom urges Ukraine to resume talks on gas crisis
AFP - Sunday, January 4
MOSCOW (AFP) - - Russian energy giant Gazprom early Sunday called on Ukraine to resume negotiations in a row that has seen Moscow cutting off all gas to its neighbour, accusing it of siphoning off supplies meant for Europe.
The appeal came as Kiev warned the European Union the bloc could face "serious problems" with Russian gas deliveries transiting its territory.
"Since December 31 Ukraine has refused to negotiate with Gazprom and has resorted to siphoning off gas intended for European consumers, in violation of its obligations as a country of transit," Gazprom deputy chief executive Alexander Medvedev said in a statement.
"We call on Ukraine to refrain from these illegal acts and to return to Moscow to negotiate, once and for all, a transaction on gas delivery that will be acceptable to the two sides," he said.
In what was seen as a softening of Gazprom's position Medvedev added: "We are ready to meet them immediately."
On Saturday Gazprom had announced it had decided to file a lawsuit against Ukraine's state gas firm Naftogaz to ensure transit of Russian gas through Ukrainian territory to Europe.
"It's not just a threat but a reality, they are stealing gas from the pipelines and underground facilities," Medvedev said after talks in Berlin.
Medvedev, on a whistle-stop tour of European capitals to explain the Russian side of the gas dispute, said negotiating with Ukrainians was "like having a talk with people from the planet Mars."
Naftogaz rebutted by warning it would file a counter-complaint if Gazprom made good its threat, Interfax-Ukraine reported.
Ukraine warned Saturday that the gas conflict with Russia could lead to serious problems for Europe within 10 days.
Several EU states were already reporting shortfalls of up to 10 percent in Russian gas being piped through Ukraine, as the effects of the standoff between Moscow and Kiev began to be felt beyond the borders of the former Soviet Union.
As the war of words intensified after Moscow turned off the tap on New Year's Day, Russia accused Ukraine of stealing gas intended for Europe while Ukraine alleged that Russia was under-supplying its EU customers.
"If the Russian side does not provide more gas (to EU member states) than at the moment, then in around 10 days there could be very serious technical problems," said top Ukrainian energy official Bogdan Sokolovsky.
"The transit of gas may be disrupted at some point," said Sokolovsky, President Viktor Yushchenko's representative on energy security. "It will not be our fault."
He said the problems would be caused by falling pressure in gas pipes due to the Russian cut of deliveries to Ukraine .
But Medvedev accused Ukraine of stealing 35 million cubic metres of Russian gas a day intended for Europe.
"All the gas which was illegally taken will have to be paid for," on top of the 600 million dollars outstanding in other debts, he told reporters in the Czech Republic, which currently holds the EU presidency.
Naftogaz denied the charge, claiming the Russians are not delivering the due quantities to European clients.
Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller told a management meeting that Gazprom would be pumping additional gas to European customers via pipelines that circumvent Ukraine .
"In these circumstances, Gazprom is obliged to supply additional volumes of gas via other transport corridors," he said.
The stream of accusations and counter-accusations came as several Central and Eastern European EU member states reported a drop in gas supplies from Russia via Ukraine.
Deliveries to Romania have fallen by 30 percent since the start of the dispute, Ioan Rus, director of the gas pipeline operator Transgaz, said, while adding that stocks were adequate to meet demand.
Poland reported a drop of 11 percent in supplies from Russia while Bulgaria said deliveries had been cut by 10 to 15 percent.
Other countries, including Hungary, Croatia and Serbia, said however that their supplies were at a normal level.
Czech Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Vondra, who met Medvedev in Prague, sought to provide reassurance, saying there was plenty of gas in stock.
"There is no reason for being insecure over the future deliveries, there is no reason for concern," he said.
Around a quarter of the gas used in the EU -- more than 40 percent of the bloc's imports -- comes from Russia, most of it pumped through Ukraine via a Soviet-built pipeline network.
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Recommend this article
Average (0 votes)
Sign in to recommend this article »
Most Recommended Stories »
Related Articles: World
Battles rage as Israeli troops push deeper into GazaAFP - 32 minutes ago
Sen. Reid called Blagojevich about Obama seatAP - 35 minutes ago
France leads alarm over Gaza, splits with USAFP - 44 minutes ago
Diplomats say US blocks UN statement on GazaAP - 56 minutes ago
UN Security Council fails to agree on Gaza ceasefire callAFP - 2 hours 10 minutes ago
Enlarge Photo
Gazprom gas supplies to Europe. Russian energy giant Gazprom early Sunday called on Ukraine to resume negotiations in a row that has seen Moscow cutting off all gas to its neighbour, accusing it of siphoning off supplies meant for Europe.
Most Popular – World
Viewed
US steel industry in collapse, eyes government aid: report
Rare Bugatti untouched for 50 years could fetch millions: report
World's oldest person dies at the age of 115
Vogue editor biggest fashion flop of 08: Time
Paulson blames global imbalances for credit crisis: report
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular