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Still no gas as both sides say other to blame
Source: Agencies |
January 14, 2009, Wednesday
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RUSSIA and Ukraine traded accusations of blame yesterday as Russia restarted natural gas supplies but little or no gas flowed toward Europe. EU officials watched in dismay and criticized both nations for their intransigence.
Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly Gazprom said it began pumping gas to Europe at 10am, ending a six-day cutoff, but four hours later Gazprom's Deputy Chairman Alexander Medvedev said Ukraine's pipeline system had failed to carry it on to Europe.
"Ukraine didn't open any export pipelines," Medvedev said. "They just shut down the entry of the pipeline in the direction of the Balkans. We don't have the physical opportunity to pump the gas to European customers."
However, Ukrainian energy adviser Bohdan Sokolovsky said Russia deliberately shipped the gas along a technically arduous route that required Ukraine to cut domestic consumers out before it could deliver gas to the Balkans.
He said a gas entry point on the Russian border and a gas pumping station near the Romanian border where Gazprom wants its gas delivered were not linked by an export pipeline.
"They are continuing their campaign to discredit Ukraine," Sokolovsky said.
EU spokesman Ferran Tarradellas Espuny, meanwhile, said both Russia and Ukraine had deprived EU monitors full access to control rooms operating the gas pipeline network.
"Access to the dispatching rooms is essential to know what is actually happening," he said, adding that it was "too early to draw such conclusions" on who to blame.
EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to express "disappointment" over the lack of gas flow to Europe and Russia's failure to let monitors into the control room.
Barroso's aide said Putin promised to look into both matters. Putin's office said he told Barroso Ukraine was to blame and advised him to contact Ukrainian officials.
Russia supplies about one quarter of the EU's natural gas, 80 percent of it shipped through Ukraine's vast pipeline network. Amid a pricing dispute with Ukraine, Russia cut off gas supplies to Europe on January 7 just as the continent was gripped by freezing temperatures.
Russia has accused Ukraine of stealing gas intended for Europe and only restarted supplies after a EU-led monitoring mission was deployed to gas metering and compressor stations across Ukrainian territory. Ukraine has denied the charges, claiming that Russia had not sent enough gas to pump the rest of it to Europe.
Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly Gazprom said it began pumping gas to Europe at 10am, ending a six-day cutoff, but four hours later Gazprom's Deputy Chairman Alexander Medvedev said Ukraine's pipeline system had failed to carry it on to Europe.
"Ukraine didn't open any export pipelines," Medvedev said. "They just shut down the entry of the pipeline in the direction of the Balkans. We don't have the physical opportunity to pump the gas to European customers."
However, Ukrainian energy adviser Bohdan Sokolovsky said Russia deliberately shipped the gas along a technically arduous route that required Ukraine to cut domestic consumers out before it could deliver gas to the Balkans.
He said a gas entry point on the Russian border and a gas pumping station near the Romanian border where Gazprom wants its gas delivered were not linked by an export pipeline.
"They are continuing their campaign to discredit Ukraine," Sokolovsky said.
EU spokesman Ferran Tarradellas Espuny, meanwhile, said both Russia and Ukraine had deprived EU monitors full access to control rooms operating the gas pipeline network.
"Access to the dispatching rooms is essential to know what is actually happening," he said, adding that it was "too early to draw such conclusions" on who to blame.
EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to express "disappointment" over the lack of gas flow to Europe and Russia's failure to let monitors into the control room.
Barroso's aide said Putin promised to look into both matters. Putin's office said he told Barroso Ukraine was to blame and advised him to contact Ukrainian officials.
Russia supplies about one quarter of the EU's natural gas, 80 percent of it shipped through Ukraine's vast pipeline network. Amid a pricing dispute with Ukraine, Russia cut off gas supplies to Europe on January 7 just as the continent was gripped by freezing temperatures.
Russia has accused Ukraine of stealing gas intended for Europe and only restarted supplies after a EU-led monitoring mission was deployed to gas metering and compressor stations across Ukrainian territory. Ukraine has denied the charges, claiming that Russia had not sent enough gas to pump the rest of it to Europe.
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