Russian gas supplies to four Balkan nations halted

06/01/2009

Russian natural gas deliveries to Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia and Turkey came to a complete halt early Tuesday during a deepening payment dispute between Russia and Ukraine, which has cut gas supplies to other European countries as well.

(AFP, BBC, International Herald Tribune, The Sofia Echo, Dnevnik, Focus News Agency, Nine O'clock, Zaman - 06/01/09; Reuters, AP, DPA, Bloomberg, UPI, FT, The Times, VOA, Mediapool, Agerpres, B92 - 05/01/09)

Gazprom Deputy Chairman Aleksandr Medvedev (2nd from left) meets with French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde (2nd from right) in Paris on Monday (January 5th). [Getty Images]

Bulgaria is facing a gas crisis, Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev said on Tuesday (January 6th), just hours after all Russian gas deliveries to the Balkan nation and three of its neighbours ended. Bulgaria fell victim to the bitter price dispute between Russia's Gazprom and Ukraine, according to the prime minister, who held an emergency cabinet meeting.

"As of 3:30 am, supplies ... to Bulgaria as well as the transit to Turkey, Greece and Macedonia have been suspended" at the Ukrainian-Romanian border, the Bulgarian energy and economy ministry stated.

Bulgaria relies on Russia for almost 100% of its natural gas needs. Its sole storage depot in Chiren can cover only a third of the country's daily needs.

Dimitar Gogov, the head of Bulgargaz, urged the company's big customers to curb consumption and consider switching quickly to alternative energy sources.

Gazprom cut off deliveries to Ukraine on January 1st following the breakdown of negotiations on Ukraine's unpaid gas bills and a supply contract for 2009. The dispute comes three years after another squabble and cutoff of gas deliveries to the Russian neighbour.

Romania has seen a drop in supply too. "Imports of Russian gas are now reduced by around 75%," Ioan Rusu, the head of Romania's state-controlled Transgaz pipeline operator, told Reuters on Tuesday.

Romania's overall natural gas reserves reportedly stand at 2.2 billion cubic m. Bucharest assured households on Monday the reduction of Russian gas imports would not affect them.

Turkey and Greece have also reported drops in their natural gas supplies.

Alarmed representatives of the 27 EU nations held an emergency meeting in Brussels on Monday.

The DPA said an increasing number of EU nations believe that "Russia and Ukraine are discrediting themselves as reliable energy sources." Member states from Central and Eastern Europe in particular stressed the pressing need to diversify supply sources and strengthen energy security.

The EU relies on Russia for about a quarter of its overall gas consumption. EU foreign ministers meeting in Prague on Thursday will further discuss the crisis.

Naftogaz, the Ukrainian state gas company, issued a warning Tuesday that nine European countries, including Germany, Hungary and Poland, would soon experience a drop in gas supplies.

"[Gazprom has] reduced deliveries to 92m cubic m per 24 hours compared to the promised 221m cubic m without explanation," Naftogaz spokesman Valentin Zemlyansky said.

The new reduction of deliveries via Ukraine came after Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's meeting on Monday with Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, who reportedly recommended the move to punish Ukraine for allegedly siphoning off gas.

"Start reducing it from today," Putin reportedly told Miller.