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Europe shivers as Russia shuts gas
Source: Agencies |
January 8, 2009, Thursday
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Russia shut off all gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine yesterday -- leaving more than a dozen countries scrambling to cope during a winter cold snap. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin publicly endorsed the move and urged that international observers be brought into the energy dispute.
The effects of the gas cutoff reverberated across the continent, where some countries have substantial reserves and others do not. The EU accused both nations of using consumers as pawns in their quarrel, and tens of thousands of people, mostly in Bulgaria, were without central heating.
"It is unacceptable that the EU gas supply security is taken hostage to negotiations between Russia and Ukraine," EU spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen said, demanding an immediate resumption of gas supplies.
Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom, which had sharply limited supplies through Ukraine on Tuesday, stopped all remaining gas shipments through the country as yesterday morning, Ukraine's gas company Naftogaz said.
Russia confirmed the cutoff, but said it was Ukraine's fault because it had shut down the last pipeline carrying gas from Russia. Gazprom said it had continued to deliver gas to Ukraine, although in reduced volumes to compensate for the gas it accuses Ukraine of diverting.
But later yesterday Putin ordered Gazprom to stop all shipments of natural gas to Ukraine.
"This should be done publicly and in the presence of international observers," Putin told Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller.
About 80 percent of Russian gas to Europe is shipped through Ukraine. Other smaller pipelines run through Belarus and Turkey.
Nations including Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey all reported a halt in Russian gas shipments. Others - including Austria, France, Germany, Hungary and Poland - reported substantial drops in supplies.
In the Balkans, people celebrating Orthodox Christmas scrambled to find other sources of heat for their homes as authorities cut off some gas to conserve supplies.
Schools and kindergartens in Bulgaria closed down because utilities needed time to switch to alternative fuels. In Bosnia, where gas operator Sarajevogas said the situation was close to a humanitarian disaster, woodcutters revved up chain saws to cut wood for fireplaces.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said telephone talks with Putin and his Ukraine counterpart Yulia Tymoshenko yielded the assurances that the use of international monitors, to verify the transit of natural gas from Russia through Ukraine's pipelines, would be key to get the gas pumping again into the European Union.
The effects of the gas cutoff reverberated across the continent, where some countries have substantial reserves and others do not. The EU accused both nations of using consumers as pawns in their quarrel, and tens of thousands of people, mostly in Bulgaria, were without central heating.
"It is unacceptable that the EU gas supply security is taken hostage to negotiations between Russia and Ukraine," EU spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen said, demanding an immediate resumption of gas supplies.
Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom, which had sharply limited supplies through Ukraine on Tuesday, stopped all remaining gas shipments through the country as yesterday morning, Ukraine's gas company Naftogaz said.
Russia confirmed the cutoff, but said it was Ukraine's fault because it had shut down the last pipeline carrying gas from Russia. Gazprom said it had continued to deliver gas to Ukraine, although in reduced volumes to compensate for the gas it accuses Ukraine of diverting.
But later yesterday Putin ordered Gazprom to stop all shipments of natural gas to Ukraine.
"This should be done publicly and in the presence of international observers," Putin told Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller.
About 80 percent of Russian gas to Europe is shipped through Ukraine. Other smaller pipelines run through Belarus and Turkey.
Nations including Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey all reported a halt in Russian gas shipments. Others - including Austria, France, Germany, Hungary and Poland - reported substantial drops in supplies.
In the Balkans, people celebrating Orthodox Christmas scrambled to find other sources of heat for their homes as authorities cut off some gas to conserve supplies.
Schools and kindergartens in Bulgaria closed down because utilities needed time to switch to alternative fuels. In Bosnia, where gas operator Sarajevogas said the situation was close to a humanitarian disaster, woodcutters revved up chain saws to cut wood for fireplaces.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said telephone talks with Putin and his Ukraine counterpart Yulia Tymoshenko yielded the assurances that the use of international monitors, to verify the transit of natural gas from Russia through Ukraine's pipelines, would be key to get the gas pumping again into the European Union.
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