Moscow - Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom warned it could
again cut supplies to Ukraine in early March over 400 million dollars
in new debt, a Russian newspaper reported Thursday.
Kommersant daily said new cuts were discussed at a board of
directors meeting this week after Ukraine failed to pay for February
supplies, an unnamed participant told the paper.
'If 400 million dollars is not paid on March 7, then on March 8 we
will again have to cut off the gas to Ukraine,' the insider quoted
the head of Gazprom's finance department, Andrei Kruglov, as saying
at the meeting.
Russia halted gas deliveries to Ukraine on New Year's over a
pricing dispute and non-payments, the move starved Europe of gas
supplies for near two weeks at the height of winter.
Europe depends on Russia for over one-quarter of its gas supplies,
80 per cent of which travel through Ukraine's pipeline system.
Gazprom renewed gas flows to Europe on January 19 only after the
highest level talks between the countries' prime ministers and under
overwhelming pressure from European leaders facing their worst ever
energy crisis.
Last week, Ukraine's Naftogaz warned it was hard up to pay for
supplies due to wide-spread defaulting by its domestic clients on
utilities bills.
Kiev has stood its ground against Gazprom's attempts to seek other
forms of payment, such as a stake in the Ukraine's strategic pipeline
network.
But the country, reeling from the financial crisis, risks losing
out on part of a 16.4-billion-dollar IMF loan for non-compliance with
budgetary demands.
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