JKX 2006

Ukraine not receiving Russian gas for several days, Yuschenko says

Kyiv, January 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko has said Ukraine has not been receiving natural gas from Russia for several days.

"Early reports indicate that Ukraine has not received a single cubic meter of natural gas from Russia," he told a Monday briefing in Kyiv.

He said he met ambassadors of EU countries and discussed the situation on the domestic gas market with them.

"Russia used to supply 60 million cubic meters of natural gas for Ukrainian transit every day," he said. "Today Ukraine is conducting the entire gas transit operation to Western Europe at its own expense," he said adding that Ukraine is not receiving gas by way of payment for the transit.

Yuschenko said that gas deliveries to Moldova are Ukraine's responsibility. He said he had requested Moldova to reduce gas consumption. "Moldova is getting 5-7 million cubic meters of gas a day," he said adding that the usual volume has been 10 million.

Yuschenko said that he sees the way out in the following steps: "The renunciation of administrative forms of influencing the gas price and transit tariff settlement, the invitation of international experts and a moratorium on the prices of gas and transit."

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