Russia and Ukraine may meet over gas dispute

15 January 2009 @ 07:49 am EDT

Russia and Ukraine are moving toward a government level meeting on Saturday to resolve the ongoing gas dispute, Ukraine's prime minister said Thursday.



Gloves are lain beside a gauge indicating gas pressure at a gas receiving station of the FGSZ Ltd, Hungary`s natural gas transporting company in Vecses (27 km/16 miles east of Budapest), Hungary, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009. However Russia opened the flow of natural gas to Ukraine on Tuesday, Ukraine`s gas company Naftogaz did not deliver the gas to Europe, saying Russia`s Gazprom demanded it use a route that was technically arduous and would force ...
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It has been just over a week since Russia shut its gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine; accusing Ukraine of illegally siphoning some 15 percent of the supplied gas, the main reason for the shut down.

While the two countries battle over gas, a big chunk of Europe has been left to other methods to overcome freezing freezing weather.

After Russia called Wednesday for a summit meeting to resolve the crisis, the office of Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko indicated the two governments would hold talks in Moscow on Saturday.

It was impossible to immediately confirm whether the meeting would be between Tymoshenko and Putin, or other ministers.

The EU relies on Russian gas pumped via Ukraine for 20 percent of its supplies.

This article is copyrighted by International Business Times.

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