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Purveyor

(29,876 posts)
Fri Jun 13, 2014, 12:11 PM Jun 2014

Ukraine Prepares for Gas Cut as It Seeks Interim Price

By Daryna Krasnolutska, Anna Shiryaevskaya and Elena Mazneva Jun 13, 2014 11:33 AM ET

Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk ordered authorities to prepare for a cut-off of Russian natural gas flows as it backed a last-minute European Union compromise between the former Soviet states.

Yatsenyuk instructed national energy company NAK Naftogaz Ukrainy to file for international arbitration against OAO Gazprom and called for an “economically justified” rate for fuel transit to Europe, he said in a statement posted today on the government’s website. The Kiev-based company wants an interim price for Russian gas after it failed to reach an agreement in talks with Gazprom with less than three days left to meet a deadline to pay bills.

“As the Russian Federation purposefully and unilaterally refuses to settle the conflict, the energy security of Ukraine and the EU is undermined,” Yatsenyuk said.

The EU, dependent on Russian gas piped through Ukraine for about 15 percent of its supplies, is trying to broker a deal to avoid interruptions seen during comparable disputes in 2006 and 2009. As Ukraine’s government forces clash with rebels claiming allegiance to Russia in the east of the country, a Gazprom deadline for Naftogaz’s past payments expires on June 16.

Yatsenyuk ordered the Foreign Ministry and the Energy Ministry to inform EU countries and the U.S. about Russia “deliberately” undermining talks on gas supplies between Naftogaz and Gazprom and rejecting constructive proposals from Ukraine, which correspond to the European Commission’s position. Russia rejects Ukraine’s accusations that it is disrupting the talks, Interfax reported, citing Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin.

more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-13/ukraine-seeks-interim-eu-brokered-gas-price-as-deadline-looms.html

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