Russia "has become hostage to irresponsible behavior" by the Ukrainian government in the current gas dispute, a senior Gazprom official said here Tuesday, referring to Ukraine's alleged shutdown of three Russian export pipelines and refusal to negotiate further.
"Gazprom, which is ready to talk, could do nothing but wait after the Ukrainians left the negotiation table", said Alexander Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's state-owned gas giant.
The situation is changing by the hour and he does not know what will happen next, Medvedev added.
Shutting down the three pipelines would reduce Gazprom's exports to Europe to one-seventh of its normal volume, he said.
Even if the on-going dispute ends, it will take days for the company to return exports to normal due to the tough weather conditions, he added.
The Russian company, regarded as a reliable gas supplier to Europe for 40 years, faces a "unprecedented challenge" with its European partners, Medvedev said.
A standoff over payments between Russia and Ukraine erupted again over the New Year when Gazprom threatened to cut supplies to Ukraine on Jan. 1 if the dispute over pricing was not resolved.
Gazprom claimed it received only 800 million U.S. dollars of the alleged 2 billion dollars owed by Ukraine, while Kiev said Russia does not send enough gas to ensure European Union (EU) supplies
Ukraine warned there could be serious problems with gas supplies for EU countries if its dispute with Russia was not settled soon.
Europe is justly rattled by rows between Gazprom and Ukraine as a supply cut could affect the amount of Russian gas reaching countries further west, as happened when a similar dispute arose in 2006.
Gazprom said unless agreement over outstanding payments is reached, and a new delivery contract signed, it had no legal obligation to supply Ukraine from Jan. 1. and cut supplies alleging that Ukraine had stolen "about 65 million cubic meters of gas from Gazprom's export pipelines."
Gas deliveries to several EU countries have dropped apparently as a result of the dispute. Romania, Hungary, Poland and Bulgaria said the pressure in their pipelines fell after Gazprom cut off supply to Ukraine.
Gazprom can no longer count on Ukraine as a transit route to EU countries and has been trying export gas through other lines, Medvedev said.
Pipes across Ukraine carry about a fifth of the EU's gas needs and eight percent of the company's export goes through Ukraine, Gazprom said.
Source:Xinhua
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