Ukraine, Russia agree to meet gas transit obligations to Europe

Ukraine and Russia agreed on Friday not to let their gas tiffs cause supply disruptions to Europe, which receives nearly half of its Russian gas imports via Ukraine. The consensus was reached during a phone conversation between Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev on Friday. The two sides "confirmed that each side will do whatever is required in compliance with its obligations, to provide uninterrupted supplies of adequate volumes of gas for consumers in Europe," the Ukrainian government said in a statement posted on its website. Kiev and Moscow recently have been embroiled in a dispute over the provisions of the gas supply contract, which many feared would result in a European energy crisis as cold winter comes. On Nov. 7, Ukraine said it may reduce natural gas imports from Russia. Ukraine's underground facilities, which also store gas for supplies to Europe, had 18.1 billion cubic meters in gas stock as of October, but Russia said that amount would not be enough to heat the country itself through the winter. Over recent years, Ukraine and Russia have had multiple pricing disputes, which often led to disruptions of Russian gas supplies reaching Europe through Ukraine. Ukraine, which currently pays Russia around 400 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic meters of gas, is trying hard to bring down the price or reduce its dependence on Russian supplies.