Deal to end European gas crisis

Russia and Ukraine announce settlement of dispute that has cut gas supplies to Europe.

MOSCOW (Reuters) — The prime ministers of Ukraine and Russia said on Sunday they had reached an outline of a deal to restore disrupted gas supplies, while the European Union said it was waiting to see gas actually flowing on to Europe.

The row between the two ex-Soviet neighbors enraged the EU by leaving large parts of Europe without gas in the middle of the winter, and eroded Russia’s and Ukraine’s credibility as gas supplier and transit route respectively.


The dispute, the worst in an annual tug-of-war over prices between Ukraine and Russia, has pushed European consumers and policymakers to think hard about building new gas routes to cut their heavy reliance on Russian supplies.

“Gas transit, the Ukrainian side assured us, will be restored very soon,” Russian state channel Vesti-24 showed Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin saying in a brief statement after the marathon talks, which lasted into the early hours of Sunday morning.

But Czech Industry Minister Martin Riman, speaking for the EU, said: “We remain realistic. Over the past few days we have seen several similarly hopeful moments. The only thing that counts for the EU is the resumption of gas supplies. For the time being it is not clear when this resumption takes place.”

Reuters