Ukraine, Seeking Russian Deal, Vows to Ensure Europe Gas Supply

(Bloomberg) — Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko urged the government to resolve a dispute with Russia on an agreement for natural-gas supplies, vowing that his country will maintain uninterrupted shipments to Europe.

Ukraine guarantees the stable transit of gas to Europe regardless of how its relationship with Russian exporter OAO Gazprom develops, Bohdan Sokolovskyi, an aide to Yushchenko, said today in an e-mailed statement.


Gazprom reduced supplies to Ukraine in March over an unsettled debt, while it cut deliveries for more than two days in January 2006 amid a pricing dispute, leading to delivery shortfalls in Europe. The president urged Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko