Gazprom Threaten to Cut Gas Supplies to Ukraine

Gazprom threatened to cut off gas supplies to Ukraine in the New Year – just as it did in the last months of 2006 and 2007.

Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kuprianov uttered the threat while speaking live on the Russian Vesti television channel on November 22.

"We would prefer to avoid this course of events – we have enough days left before the New Year to come to an agreement, but we cannot deliver gas without a contract," Kuprianov said, according to the UNIAN news agency.

Kuprianov added that Ukraine will pay $400 per thousand cubic meters of the blue-burning fuel next year – if the conditions of a bilateral memorandum on gas prices are not fulfilled, including payment of a $2.4 billion debt.

Russian president Dmytri Medvedev told Gazprom to collect $2.4 billion from Ukraine. During his Nov. 20 meeting with Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, Medvedev said told the Russian natural gas monopoly that Ukraine's debt should be collected "voluntarily or involuntarily," UNIAN reported.

Author: Jo Amey