Ukraine Official Accuses Moscow Of Political Pressure In Gas Dispute

KIEV, Ukraine -- A senior Ukrainian energy official has accused Russia of using a natural gas dispute to exert political pressure on its smaller neighbor and again dismissed Moscow's claims of a US$1.5 billion (euro 975 million) debt as groundless, according to a newspaper interview published Saturday.


Russian state-controlled natural gas company OAO Gazprom threatened Friday to cut off Russian gas to Ukraine as early as Tuesday if no agreement is reached on the debt.

The dispute is being watched with anxiety in Western Europe, which receives much of its natural gas through pipelines crossing Ukraine.

In an interview with the Weekly Mirror newspaper, the head of Ukraine's state oil and gas company Naftogaz Oleh Dubina, said Gazprom's move was politically motivated.

"The Russian side is doing all it can to push Naftogaz and Ukraine into a corner," Dubina was quoted as saying. "And all of this is happening right before President (Viktor) Yushchenko's visit to Russia."

Yushchenko is due in Moscow on Tuesday for talks on natural gas and Kiev's bid to join NATO, which Russia strongly opposes.

Gazprom's announcement has brought echoes of the January 2006 gas price dispute between Russia and Ukraine, when Gazprom halted shipments to Ukraine for several days. The cutoff disrupted supplies to Western European countries that get Russian gas through pipelines that cross Ukraine.

Dubina acknowledged that Naftogaz owes money for gas to an intermediary company, without specifying how much, but said it does not owe anything directly to Gazprom, according to the interview.

About 25 percent of the gas currently imported by Ukraine is of Russian origin and the rest comes from Central Asian countries, according to Gazprom officials. But all of it comes in pipelines that cross Russia.

If the debt is not resolved, Gazprom said, it would cut only Russian-origin gas and promised that the move would not affect deliveries further downstream in countries beyond Ukraine.

The European Commission on Friday called on both sides to ensure Russian gas deliveries to Western Europe are not cut.

Source: The China Post