A two-day meeting designed to improve global energy security starts in Moscow today just as Russia threatens to halt natural gas shipments to Ukraine, risking disruption to European supplies. At least 18 ministers from countries including Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Turkey are attending the International Energy Forum’s conference, where Europe will also be represented. They meet days after an ultimatum to Ukraine raised questions about Russia’s reliability as a supplier. The U.K. delegation declined to attend the forum to protest Russia’s role in Ukraine, IEF Secretary-General Aldo Flores-Quiroga said today. “The IEF remains ready to facilitate producer-consumer dialogue regardless of circumstances,” he said. OAO Gazprom (OGZD) , Russia’s state-run gas exporter, threatened to halt June supplies without advance payment, as Kiev has fallen behind in payments for Russian shipments dating from last year. Ukraine is a key transit route for EU gas, with about 15 percent of the region’s […]