Kiev on Saturday warned the European Union the bloc could face "serious problems" within 10 days with Russian gas deliveries transiting Ukraine, after Moscow cut off all gas supplies to its neighbour. Several EU states were already reporting shortfalls of up to 10 percent in Russian gas being piped through Ukraine, as the effects of the stand-off between Moscow and Kiev began to be felt beyond the borders of the former Soviet Union.
As the war of words intensified after Moscow turned off the tap on New Year's Day, Russia accused Ukraine of stealing gas intended for Europe while Ukraine alleged that Russia was under-supplying its EU customers. "If the Russian side does not provide more gas (to EU member states) than at the moment, then in around 10 days there could be very serious technical problems," said top Ukrainian energy official Bogdan Sokolovsky.
"The transit of gas may be disrupted at some point," said Sokolovsky, President Viktor Yushchenko's representative on energy security. "It will not be our fault." He said the problems would be caused by falling pressure in gas pipes due to the Russian cut of deliveries to Ukraine.
But the deputy chief executive of Russian energy giant Gazprom, Alexander Medvedev, accused Ukraine of stealing 35 million cubic metres of Russian gas a day intended for Europe. "All the gas which was illegally taken will have to be paid for," on top of the 600 million dollars outstanding in other debts, he told reporters in the Czech Republic, which currently holds the EU presidency.
Ukraine's state gas firm Naftogaz denied the charge, claiming the Russians are not delivering the due quantities to European clients. Medvedev was on a whistle-stop tour of European capitals to explain the Russian side of the gas dispute, starting with Prague.
Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller told a management meeting that Gazprom would be pumping additional gas to European customers via pipelines that circumvent Ukraine. "In these circumstances, Gazprom is obliged to supply additional volumes of gas via other transport corridors," he said.
In further confirmation of the rancour between the two sides, Gazprom announced it had decided to file a law suit against Naftogaz to ensure transit of Russian gas through Ukrainian territory to Europe.
He said negotiating with Ukrainians was "like having a talk with people from the planet Mars." The stream of accusations and counter-accusations came as several Central and Eastern European EU member states reported a drop in gas supplies from Russia via Ukraine.
Deliveries to Romania have fallen by 30 percent since the start of the dispute, Ioan Rus, director of the gas pipeline operator Transgaz, said, while adding that stocks were adequate to meet demand. Poland reported a drop of 11 percent in supplies from Russia while Bulgaria said deliveries had been cut by 10 to 15 percent. Other countries, including Hungary, Croatia and Serbia, said however that their supplies were at a normal level.
Czech Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Vondra, who met Medvedev in Prague, sought to provide reassurance, saying there was plenty of gas in stock. "There is no reason for being insecure over the future deliveries, there is no reason for concern," he said.