Russian President: No Resolution Yet on Energy Crisis
Russia's President Dmitri Medvedev has signaled that Ukraine and Russia have failed to reach a deal on restoring natural gas supplies to Europe.
Russia's Mr. Medvedev spoke to reporters in Moscow Saturday after a meeting with the Ukrainian prime minister, representatives of the European Union and some eastern European countries. He said the meeting was a useful exchange of views but had not led to a final agreement on gas pricing.
Ukraine's prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, is to hold separate talks with her Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, later in the day.
Russia cut all gas supplies to the West last week in a pricing dispute with Ukraine. A bilateral deal was signed Monday on restarting the supplies, but no shipments have been received in the West.
The European Commission threatened Friday to take sanctions against Russia and Ukraine unless gas supplies to the EU resume early next week.
Europe receives about a quarter of its natural gas from Russia. Most Russian gas is shipped through pipelines crossing Ukraine.
Besides Ms. Tymoshenko, the prime ministers of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova and Serbia also attended the meeting in Moscow, along with officials from Slovakia and Turkey and representatives from the European Union.
Label: News