Russian gas row threatens whole of Europe

Russia's gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine have been completely shut down as a row between the two countries intensifies. Ukraine's Naftogaz said Russia's state energy supplier Gazprom halted the supplies while Moscow claimed Kiev had closed the last remaining pipeline. Hostilities began when Russia reduced volumes to Ukraine on January 1 after failing to reach agreement with Kiev over debts and gas prices. The EU depends on Russia for about 25 per cent of its gas of which 80 per cent is pumped through Ukraine. Growing numbers of European Union member states, including Germany, France and Italy, are without Russian fuel in freezing mid-winter temperatures. Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has warned the European Union will take a more forceful approach towards the row if supplies to Europe are not resumed by Thursday. Mr Topolanek, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said: "If supplies are not resumed by tomorrow, we will have to see stronger intervention from both the EU presidency and the EU as such." Naftogaz spokesman Valentin Zemlyansky said: "Russia, which supplies 80 per cent of its gas to Europe through Ukraine, has left Europe without gas. There is zero transit." In Bulgaria, thousands of households spent a freezing night without central heating because utilities need time to switch to alternative fuels, officials said. Schools are shut and some companies are closed on Wednesday. Czech importer RWE Transgas said the main transit pipeline from Russia to the Czech Republic and western Europe was halted from midnight. Austria, Slovakia, Poland and Romania also said their supplies were halted, joining Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey, Macedonia, Greece and Croatia who announced on Tuesday that supplies of Russian gas via Ukraine had shut down. Naftogaz boss Oleh Dubyna plans to visit Moscow on Thursday for talks with Gazprom chief Alexei Miller, but both sides continued to trade blame. Ukranian President Viktor Yushchenko wrote in a letter to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev: "I consider it necessary... to immediately resume the uninterrupted transit of Russian gas to European consumers in the volumes that were being transported before December 31." In a separate letter to European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso, Mr Yushchenko asked the EU to use all efforts to start talks to end the crisis, which has further dented investor confidence in his country. The EU has turned down requests to mediate, saying it is a commercial dispute to be solved by Kiev and Moscow, but sent a mission to meet Ukrainian officials on Monday. Pressure on the Union to act is likely to increase if the dispute continues.

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ITN | January 7, 2009

Tags:. .midwinter. .gazprom. .intensifies. .hostilities. .pipeline