Jan 12 (Reuters) - A deal to restore Russian gas supplies via Ukraine to Europe appears in danger of collapse after Moscow rejected additions by Kiev. Below are some questions and answers on the dispute.
WHAT WAS THE DEAL, AND WHY HAS IT FALLEN APART?
In a dispute over the price of gas, Russia cut off supplies to Ukraine on Jan. 1. Last week it went further by cutting off all flows via Ukraine to Europe -- the route by which the EU gets a fifth of all its gas supplies. The weekend agreement was meant to get gas flowing to Europe again: international monitors were to check to make sure that Ukraine was not siphoning off supplies meant for Europe, as Moscow has alleged and Kiev denies. But Ukraine appended extra conditions unacceptable to Moscow: it denied any outstanding debts to Russian export monopoly Gazprom and, according to Gazprom, is asking Russia to supply it at no cost with 21 million cubic metres a day of 'technical' gas to maintain pressure in the pipeline system.
CAN THE DEAL BE RESCUED? WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Moscow has demanded that the Ukrainian stipulations be removed, which would require a major climbdown by Kiev. It is now falling to the European Union -- which tried initially to stay out of the row but has been drawn in deep as crisis mediator -- to try to sort out the mess. EU energy ministers will meet in Brussels on Monday, and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has proposed sending officials to join them. He has also asked his foreign minister to get the EU to lean on Kiev. The European Commission said late on Sunday it had agreed with Ukraine's prime minister to 'separate' the Ukrainian declaration from the gas monitoring deal, but it was not clear how this would work and whether it would satisfy Moscow.
Much is at stake for the EU, not only because of its heavy dependence on Russian gas. A breakdown of talks would be a severe blow to the Czech Republic, which took over the bloc's rotating presidency on Jan. 1. Its prime minister, Mirek Topolanek, had taken on a leading role in the crisis by shuttling from Moscow to Kiev to get both parties to sign the deal.
WHO IS WORST AFFECTED BY THE DISPUTE?
Ukraine, its economy already in crisis, says it has more than two months' worth of gas reserves, but some of its companies and utilities have already been forced to cut consumption and are trying to switch to other fuels.
Some 18 other countries have been affected, mostly in southeast Europe but also including Turkey. The western Balkans and Bulgaria, the poorest EU member, rely almost entirely on Russian gas for their needs and have no access to alternative pipeline routes. Dozens of factories have shut down production.
Ukraine had offered to sell gas from its storage reserves to Bulgaria, but Sofia said on Sunday there was insufficient pipeline pressure to make this possible. Slovakia says it will restart a nuclear power plant unit it shut down at the end of last year to comply with its EU accession agreement.
(Compiled by Mark Trevelyan)
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((For factbox on Russia-Ukraine differences)) Keywords: RUSSIA UKRAINE GAS (For TAKE A LOOK on related stories) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
WHAT WAS THE DEAL, AND WHY HAS IT FALLEN APART?
In a dispute over the price of gas, Russia cut off supplies to Ukraine on Jan. 1. Last week it went further by cutting off all flows via Ukraine to Europe -- the route by which the EU gets a fifth of all its gas supplies. The weekend agreement was meant to get gas flowing to Europe again: international monitors were to check to make sure that Ukraine was not siphoning off supplies meant for Europe, as Moscow has alleged and Kiev denies. But Ukraine appended extra conditions unacceptable to Moscow: it denied any outstanding debts to Russian export monopoly Gazprom and, according to Gazprom, is asking Russia to supply it at no cost with 21 million cubic metres a day of 'technical' gas to maintain pressure in the pipeline system.
CAN THE DEAL BE RESCUED? WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Moscow has demanded that the Ukrainian stipulations be removed, which would require a major climbdown by Kiev. It is now falling to the European Union -- which tried initially to stay out of the row but has been drawn in deep as crisis mediator -- to try to sort out the mess. EU energy ministers will meet in Brussels on Monday, and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has proposed sending officials to join them. He has also asked his foreign minister to get the EU to lean on Kiev. The European Commission said late on Sunday it had agreed with Ukraine's prime minister to 'separate' the Ukrainian declaration from the gas monitoring deal, but it was not clear how this would work and whether it would satisfy Moscow.
Much is at stake for the EU, not only because of its heavy dependence on Russian gas. A breakdown of talks would be a severe blow to the Czech Republic, which took over the bloc's rotating presidency on Jan. 1. Its prime minister, Mirek Topolanek, had taken on a leading role in the crisis by shuttling from Moscow to Kiev to get both parties to sign the deal.
WHO IS WORST AFFECTED BY THE DISPUTE?
Ukraine, its economy already in crisis, says it has more than two months' worth of gas reserves, but some of its companies and utilities have already been forced to cut consumption and are trying to switch to other fuels.
Some 18 other countries have been affected, mostly in southeast Europe but also including Turkey. The western Balkans and Bulgaria, the poorest EU member, rely almost entirely on Russian gas for their needs and have no access to alternative pipeline routes. Dozens of factories have shut down production.
Ukraine had offered to sell gas from its storage reserves to Bulgaria, but Sofia said on Sunday there was insufficient pipeline pressure to make this possible. Slovakia says it will restart a nuclear power plant unit it shut down at the end of last year to comply with its EU accession agreement.
(Compiled by Mark Trevelyan)
((For main story, double-click on))
((For factbox on Russia-Ukraine differences)) Keywords: RUSSIA UKRAINE GAS (For TAKE A LOOK on related stories) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.