Moldova, Ukraine ask for EU help in gas dispute with Russia
4/1/2006 11:52
Moldova and Ukraine, both suffering from gas shortfalls after Russia
recently cut off supplies, jointly appealed to the European Union (EU) yesterday
to help settle the gas standoff, Moldovan information agency reported on
Tuesday.
Moldova and Ukraine believe Russia is using gas price leverage to
pressure them, cause social unrest, and destroy their economies, said a
statement signed by the Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin and his Ukrainian
counterpart Viktor Yushchenko, the agency said.
The statement said that the
two countries hoped the EU would persuade Russia to resume the talks in order to
set realistic gas prices and help broker Russia's payments for the use of their
gas pipelines. The talks would also help secure a stable supply of Russian gas
to consumers in Europe, it added.
On Sunday, Russia cut off gas supplies to
Ukraine and Moldova, both of which greatly rely on Russia's gas exports, as a
consequence of the price disputes.
Moldova had opposed Russia's decision to
raise the gas price per 1,000 cubic meters from US$68 to US$160. In turn,
Ukraine had strongly rejected Russia's planned raising of the price of gas
exported there from US$50 per 1000 cubic meters to US$230.
The latest reports
indicate that officials from Ukraine and Moldova have held talks with Gazprom,
Russia's state-owned oil and gas giant. The Gazprom spokesman, Sergei
Kupriyanov, stated that the results of the talks would be made public at 10 a.m.
(0700 GMT) Wednesday, said the RIA-Novosti news agency.
Xinhua
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