EU: 50-50 Chance Ukraine-Russia Gas Talks Will Succeed
Russia, the European Union and Ukraine have resumed talks aimed at ending a Russian natural gas supply cut as winter approaches.
Ukraine's energy minister, Yuri Prodan, is meeting his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak in Brussels for negotiations mediated by European Union Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger.
Oettinger said there is a 50-percent chance an interim deal can be reached.
Russia is demanding prepayment to restart winter gas supplies. Kyiv says it is working to raise more money from all possible sources, including the European Union. The European Commission is considering Ukraine's recent request for a new EU loan of about $2.5 billion.
EU nations are also threatened by the shortage of gas supplies, since Ukraine may be forced to use some of the gas it delivers westward to meet its own needs. Temperatures in Kyiv have already dropped below zero Celsius.
Russia's state-controlled natural gas monopoly, Gazprom, stopped supplying its Ukrainian partner, NAK Naftogaz Ukrainy, in June because of unpaid bills, which Moscow says total about $4.5 billion. It was the third such gas supply interruption in less than ten years.
Meanwhile, the EU said Wednesday it "deplored" remarks made earlier this week by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Moscow will recognize the results of elections Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine are set to hold Sunday in areas they control.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday also condemned the planned rebel vote, saying it violates Ukraine's constitution and law and will "seriously undermine" the peace agreement reached between Kyiv and separatists last month.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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EU: 50-50 Chance Ukraine-Russia Gas Talks Will Succeed