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Gas flows as Ukraine and Russia strike deal
Source: Agencies |
January 13, 2009, Tuesday
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THE European Union presidency says Russia will restart gas supplies to Europe this morning after striking a deal with Ukraine yesterday morning.
A spokesman for the Czech government, which holds the rotating EU leadership, said Russia had announced it would start pumping gas at 7am GMT today.
"We greatly welcome this announcement," said spokesman Radek Honzak.
Much of Russia's gas travels through Ukrainian pipelines, and Ukrainian officials have said it could take three days or more for gas to reach Europe after Russia turns the taps back on.
Russia shut off natural gas supplies to the EU last Wednesday in a dispute with neighboring Ukraine.
The move left tens of thousands of homes and businesses, mostly in eastern Europe, without heat during freezing weather.
A breakthrough in the dispute came yesterday when Ukraine sign a deal to allow independent monitors to track natural gas shipments from Russia.
It did not insist on its previous conditions, opening the way for a resumption of gas supplies to Europe.
Russia's state-controlled gas giant Gazprom announced the EU-brokered deal was signed yesterday morning during talks in Kiev.
After several hours' delay and mixed signals sent by the Ukrainian government, state gas company Naftogaz confirmed the agreement had been signed.
But Naftogaz spokesman Valentyn Zemlyansky said the conditions that Russia had rejected were still part of Ukraine's side of the agreement, though they were now contained in a document that was not legally binding.
Russia stopped supplying gas to Ukraine on January 1 amid a price dispute and allegations Kiev was siphoning off gas. Ukraine has denied this.
"As soon as they (the monitors) are at the control points, and we are sure that they can control the transit of our gas, Gazprom will pump gas to Ukraine's gas transit system to be shipped to European customers," Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said at a Cabinet meeting yesterday.
A spokesman for the Czech government, which holds the rotating EU leadership, said Russia had announced it would start pumping gas at 7am GMT today.
"We greatly welcome this announcement," said spokesman Radek Honzak.
Much of Russia's gas travels through Ukrainian pipelines, and Ukrainian officials have said it could take three days or more for gas to reach Europe after Russia turns the taps back on.
Russia shut off natural gas supplies to the EU last Wednesday in a dispute with neighboring Ukraine.
The move left tens of thousands of homes and businesses, mostly in eastern Europe, without heat during freezing weather.
A breakthrough in the dispute came yesterday when Ukraine sign a deal to allow independent monitors to track natural gas shipments from Russia.
It did not insist on its previous conditions, opening the way for a resumption of gas supplies to Europe.
Russia's state-controlled gas giant Gazprom announced the EU-brokered deal was signed yesterday morning during talks in Kiev.
After several hours' delay and mixed signals sent by the Ukrainian government, state gas company Naftogaz confirmed the agreement had been signed.
But Naftogaz spokesman Valentyn Zemlyansky said the conditions that Russia had rejected were still part of Ukraine's side of the agreement, though they were now contained in a document that was not legally binding.
Russia stopped supplying gas to Ukraine on January 1 amid a price dispute and allegations Kiev was siphoning off gas. Ukraine has denied this.
"As soon as they (the monitors) are at the control points, and we are sure that they can control the transit of our gas, Gazprom will pump gas to Ukraine's gas transit system to be shipped to European customers," Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said at a Cabinet meeting yesterday.
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