Russia, Ukraine Trade Blame in Europe Gas Crisis

Russia has accused Ukraine of stealing gas intended for Europe and only restarted supplies after a EU-led monitoring mission was deployed to gas metering and compressor stations across Ukraine. Ukraine has denied the charges, claiming that Russia has not sent enough so-called "technical gas," which is needed to maintain pressure to send the rest of the energy to Europe.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is seen before his meeting with Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller,...

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is seen before his meeting with Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, unseen, in theNovo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, Monday, Jan. 12, 2009. Russia's state gas monopoly has promised to resume shipping Europe-bound gas through Ukraine on Tuesday morning, nearly a week after it shut off the taps and forced countless Europeans to huddle cold and resentful in freezing homes. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

(AP)

The two nations disagree over who should pay for "technical gas." Ukraine's sprawling, inefficient pipeline network needs 21 million cubic meters of gas per day for transit — almost twice as much as the 12 million cubic meters consumed daily by Bulgaria.

Russia has used the gas dispute to push for new pipelines under the Baltic and the Black Sea that would bypass Ukraine. But EU officials say the crisis should encourage a search for independent energy sources and supply routes — such as the U.S.-backed Nabucco pipeline via Turkey — that would carry Caspian energy to Europe and circumvent Russia.

Relations between the two ex-Soviet neighbors have been strained since the 2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine led to the election of a pro-Western government in Kiev. Ukraine's efforts to join NATO and its support for the former Soviet republic of Georgia in its August war with Russia also angered the Kremlin.

Russia will not send natural gas to Ukraine for domestic consumption until the deadlock is resolved over what Ukraine should pay for Russian gas and what Russia should pay for using Ukraine's pipelines.

Ukraine last year paid $179.50 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas and Yushchenko said Tuesday that Ukraine will pay no more than $210 in 2009. Russia wants Ukraine to pay market price for gas, about the $450 that Europeans pay.

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Associated Press writers Maria Danilova and Yuras Karmanau in Kiev, Ukraine, Nataliya Vasilyeva, Vladimir Isachenkov and Douglas Birch in Moscow, and Raf Casert in Brussels contributed to this report.

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