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Kyiv hopes for alternative gas sources in case Russia cuts supplies

Published March 8, 2014 at 1:03 pm

This picture taken on March 4, 2014 shows valves of a gas pipe-line in a gas station not far from Kiev. Russian energy giant Gazprom on February 7, 2014 warned Ukraine it could cut off gas exports if the new authorities in Kiev did not pay a bill for debt that now stands at $1.89 billion. \"Ukraine has de-facto stopped paying for gas... We cannot deliver gas for free. Either Ukraine pays the debt and pays for current supplies or the risk appears of a return to the situation at the start of 2009,\" said Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller, quoted by Russian news agencies.

Photo by AFP

Ukraine's Acting Foreign Minister Andriy Deschytsia has said he is not going to dramatize the situation over a possible reduction in Russian natural gas imports.

“As regards the gas supplies, I think Ukrainian will be able to overcome this reduction at the expense of other sources … If Russia stops gas supplies, we shall look for other sources,” he said at a briefing on Saturday.