Way cleared for resumption of gas supplies, says EU

MOSCOW has agreed to the deployment of international monitors to oversee the transit of Russian gas to EU states via Ukraine, clearing the way for the resumption of European gas supplies, the Czech EU presidency said.

Earlier yesterday, a senior Czech official said Russia’s gas export monopoly Gazprom had baulked at a deal, insisting Russian monitors be allowed inside Ukraine, which it says is stealing gas piped to EU markets across its territory.

The breakthrough came after talks between Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek and German and Russian leaders.

“This deployment should lead to the Russian supplies of gas to EU member states being restored,” the EU statement said.

There was no mention of any timeframe for deployment of the monitoring teams, nor did it say when supplies could be restored. Russia and Ukraine have yet to agree a price for Russian gas deliveries, which had been subsidised since Soviet times.

The gas cut-offs have left hundreds of thousands of people in the Balkans without gas, forced factories to shut down and disrupted deliveries as far west as France and Germany.

South-east Europe has borne the brunt of the disruption, but it has affected supplies as far west as France and Germany as Europe faces freezing mid-winter temperatures.

Earlier, Moscow said it would only restore gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine once international monitors were in place and told Kiev it must pay the going market rate for its energy.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said a “collapse” of the authorities in Kiev and high-level corruption in Ukraine were partly to blame for the crisis.

“In order to restore normal flows, (Ukraine) needs to come to Moscow and sign a contract for gas supplies to Ukraine,” Putin told western journalists at his residence outside Moscow.

“And they need to pay for the product they receive. At the market price... our Ukrainian partners don’t want to sign and don’t want to pay. That’s it.”

The dispute between Kiev and its former Soviet master in Moscow follows tensions over Ukraine’s efforts to join NATO, a move bitterly opposed by Moscow and viewed with wariness even by European members of the alliance and by investors. Russia cut off gas for Ukraine’s domestic consumption on January 1.

The eight-day gas crisis has disrupted supplies to 18 countries.