Ukraine to pay gas bill, end crisis

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) — Ukraine’s government will force the company that manages its natural gas supplies to pay off its debts to Russia’s Gazprom to resolve a crisis that reduced the flow of gas supplies into Ukraine and threatened to disrupt European gas supplies, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said Wednesday.

Tymoshenko denied a report that her country would divert some of the gas that passes through the country on its way from Russia to Europe to make up for Gazprom’s decision to cut Ukraine’s gas supply in half because of the failure to pay.


Gazprom cut its shipments to Ukraine in half because the Ukraine company Naftogaz defaulted on paying for the commodity, the Russian gas company said Tuesday.

A Gazprom spokesman said Wednesday it had been informed by Ukraine that it was diverting some of the gas that passes through the country on its way from Russia to Europe to make up for the reduction.

Tymoshenko, in a statement released Wednesday, denied any disruption of the gas flow to Europe.

CNN