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Snag hits Russia-Ukraine gas deal Russia-Ukraine gas deal falters
(about 5 hours later)
Russian energy giant Gazprom says a deal to re-start gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine will be delayed as it has not received a copy of the agreement. Russia says it cannot implement an agreement with Ukraine to resume gas flows to Europe, accusing Ukraine of adding "unacceptable" conditions.
Kiev and Moscow signed the EU-brokered deal on Saturday. The new snag comes as EU observers arrived at gas pumping stations in Ukraine to monitor flow. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Kiev had added provisos contradicting Moscow's position and that the deal was void until the issue was resolved.
Hundreds of thousands of people across Europe are without heating in the region's worst energy crisis in years. The deal aims to end the row between Russia and Ukraine that has created an energy crisis in parts of Europe.
The underlying issue over pricing that provoked the dispute is unresolved. A spokesman for the Ukrainian president accused Moscow of "foot-dragging".
This is delaying our work and the start of monitors' work at the facilities Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7817780.stm">The struggle to keep warm class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7240462.stm">Why Europe needs Russian gas The weekend agreement followed days of intensive EU-led shuttle diplomacy between Russia and Ukraine. Twenty-four hours ago it seemed a deal had been done for Russian energy giant Gazprom to re-start gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine, following frantic EU shuttle diplomacy.
Moscow said that once the EU monitors were in place, it would turn the taps back on, bringing the crisis to an end. Both Russia and Ukraine had signed an agreement to allow international monitors to observe the flow of natural gas from Russia to Europe via the Ukraine.
However, by late on Sunday, Gazprom said it had still not received a copy of the monitoring agreement "through official channels". class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7817780.stm">The struggle to keep warm class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7240462.stm">Why Europe needs Russian gas However, the deal appears to be off after Mr Medvedev said that Ukraine added provisos to the accord that were unacceptable to Moscow.
"This is delaying our work and the start of monitors' work at the facilities," said Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov. The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse in Kiev says it appears that the add-ons relate to the thorny question of Ukraine's gas debts to Russia, and whether or not Kiev had been siphoning off gas destined for European customers.
Once gas starts to flow, it will still take at least 36 hours for it to reach hundreds of thousands of consumers in countries like Bulgaria, Serbia and Bosnia, in the grip of severe winter weather. The European Commission, which negotiated the deal, said the Ukrainian declaration did not change the agreement and there was no reason for further delays to the gas deliveries.
Meanwhile, EU observers are waiting at pumping stations in Ukraine to monitor the flow of gas.
But the taps remain switched off and hundreds of thousands of Europeans will be left in the cold for some time to come.
Naftogaz, the Ukrainian state energy company, told the BBC that even if Russia turned the taps on, it could take at least 36 hours for that gas to reach Europe.
Price rowPrice row
Russia cut supplies to the Ukraine on New Year's Day. The underlying issue over pricing that provoked the dispute is unresolved.
The EU gets a quarter of its gas supplies from Russia, 80% of which passes through Ukraine.The EU gets a quarter of its gas supplies from Russia, 80% of which passes through Ukraine.
The EU observers will be monitoring the amount of gas flowing into Ukraine from Russia to the east, and matching it with the amount going out again, to other European countries to the west.
That, all sides agree, should provide an answer to the hotly contested question of whether or not Ukraine was stealing gas destined for European consumers, says the BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse in Kiev.
The price Ukraine should pay Russia for its gas in the coming year, and how much Russia should pay Ukraine in return for transporting gas to Europe has yet to be agreed.The price Ukraine should pay Russia for its gas in the coming year, and how much Russia should pay Ukraine in return for transporting gas to Europe has yet to be agreed.
Russia cut supplies to the Ukraine on New Year's Day.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has vowed to "try to continue negotiations with Russia through all possible channels" on a new gas contract.Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has vowed to "try to continue negotiations with Russia through all possible channels" on a new gas contract.