Ukraine could sign a deal on April 28 allowing the shipment of up to 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas a year from Slovakia, ministers from the two countries said, although Ukraine says its neighbor could pump three times that much. Russia's seizure of Crimea from Ukraine has set off the most serious East-West rift since the end of the Cold War, resulting in EU and U.S. sanctions, mostly in the form of visa bans and asset freezes for a number of Russian officials.
Reuters: Ukraine haggles with Slovakia for bigger gas shipments
Moscow has nearly doubled the natural gas price it charges Ukraine and threatened to cut gas supplies for non-payment of debt since a new pro-Western government took over in Kyiv in February.
