Ukraine Temporarily Halts Russian Gas Imports

Ukraine will temporarily stop buying Russian gas until the price issue is settled, the country's Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan announced Wednesday.

Prodan said that Kiev was not satisfied with the sum it has to pay from April 1 this year, as ITAR-TASS agency quoted him as saying.

The Minister however asserted that his country will pursue negotiations with Moscow over the prospects of re-introducing the old gas price.

Over the past week Gazprom has decided to make two consecutive hikes its supplies for Ukraine, with officials from the Russian energy concern arguing that a previously existing special pricing regime has to be scrapped because Ukraine does not pay its debt to the company.

This led to a total 80-percent increase of what Ukraine must pay to Gazprom for a cubic meter. Kiev earlier assured that even if the country decided to stop injecting Russian gas into its energy system, it would not halt supplies to Europe.

Prodan also confirmed that reversing gas supplies from Slovakia could be a possible source of energy for Ukraine.

Slovakia said it would seek to remove legal obstacles which prevent the reversing of gas supplies.