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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Amark$p who wrote (44166)	12/24/2008 1:50:00 PM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 217668

Gazprom, which supplies a quarter of Europe’s gas, mainly through Ukraine’s pipeline system, curtailed deliveries to the country on Jan. 1, 2006, over a similar dispute. That led to shortfalls throughout Europe and raised concern about Russia’s reliability as an energy supplier. Medvedev Threatens Ukraine Sanctions Over Gas Debt (Update1) Email \| Print \| A A A By Lyubov Pronina Dec. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev threatened sanctions against Ukraine, and state-run OAO Gazprom said it might cut off natural gas to the former Soviet republic if it fails to pay $2.1 billion it owes by next week. “They have to pay to the last ruble if they don’t want their economy to eventually face sanctions and demands from the Russian Federation,” Medvedev said today in an interview with state-controlled television channels. “We do not have it as a goal to cut off” supplies, he said. “Our goal is to get the money.” Ukraine said it won’t be able to pay for gas supplied over the last two months, a condition that must be met for deliveries to continue after Jan. 1, Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said on Russian state television today. Ukraine owes $806 million for November and $862 million for December, plus about $450 million in fines, he said. The late payments come as Ukraine’s economy is expected to grow 2.5 percent this year, down from an average of 7 percent since 2000. Along with emerging-market countries such as Hungary and Latvia, the nation has been battered by turmoil in global financial markets. The Washington-based International Monetary Fund approved a $16.4 billion loan to Ukraine last month. Gazprom, Russia’s natural-gas exporter, said today Ukraine needs to pay about $2.1 billion by next week to avert a second supply cut in three years. NATO Aspirations Conflict with neighboring Ukraine over gas deliveries has been one of most contentious issues between the countries. Russia is also challenging Ukraine’s aspirations to join the North- Atlantic Treaty Organization and blames Ukrainian leadership for supplying weapons to the Georgian army, which fought Russia in August over the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Medvedev said today that relations with Ukraine have reached the lowest point over the last few years and that its former republic “lacks efficient leadership.” Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has been clashing with Yulia Timoshenko since she assumed the post of prime minister a year ago over the country’s economic policies and most recently about next year’s budget. Yushchenko has also criticized Timoshenko for not paying for gas supplies. “You should buy only that amount of gas for which you can pay,” Yushchenko said yesterday at a press conference in Kiev. 2006 Precedent Medvedev said that Russia will use a range of possibilities to retaliate if Ukraine doesn’t pay off its gas debt, while fulfilling its obligations to other consumers including in Europe. Gazprom, which supplies a quarter of Europe’s gas, mainly through Ukraine’s pipeline system, curtailed deliveries to the country on Jan. 1, 2006, over a similar dispute. That led to shortfalls throughout Europe and raised concern about Russia’s reliability as an energy supplier. Ukraine opened a credit line for its state energy company, NAK Naftogaz Ukrainy, to pay about $750 million of the Gazprom debt, VAT Oshchadbank, the bank handling the transaction, said yesterday. Gazprom and Naftogaz executives are continuing to negotiate, Kupriyanov said. To contact the reporter on this story: Lyubov Pronina in Moscow at lpronina@bloomberg.net Last Updated: December 24, 2008 13:46 EST