Gazprom Threatens To Halt Supplies To Ukraine
The headquarters of Gazprom, which is in a dispute with Ukraine over gas prices (AFP)
Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov made the announcement in comments to Russia's Ekho Moskvy radio station.
Earlier reports said Gazprom chief Aleksei Miller issued a similar warning in an interview to be broadcast tonight on Russia's English-language television channel, Russia Today.
Russia and Ukraine are engaged in a bitter dispute over the price Gazprom wants to charge Kyiv as of next year.
Gazprom has said that it is considering hiking the price it is charging Ukraine to $160 per 1,000 cubic meters from a current $50. Ukraine has criticized the proposed increase, saying it is tantamount to political pressure.
(Ekho Moskvy/ITAR-TASS /RIA-Novosti)
Celeste Wallander directs the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and is a CSIS senior fellow. Before joining CSIS, she was senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C., and associate professor of government at Harvard University. She is the founder and executive director of the Program on New Approaches to Russian Security. Her recent projects include work on U.S.-Russian security cooperation, the history of Russia and globalization, HIV/AIDS in Russia, and the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election. Among her books are "Swords And Sustenance: The Economics Of Security In Belarus And Ukraine" and "Mortal Friends, Best Enemies: German-Russian Cooperation After The Cold War." She is currently writing "Global Russia: Economics, Politics, And Security."
On November 29, 2005, she spoke with RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service about Russia's energy policies and how Moscow might be seeking to leverage its influence over its neighbors. Listen to the complete interview.
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To read a transcript of the interview,click here.
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