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Pro-Europe parties on track for big election win in Ukraine, partial count shows

KIEV (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko hailed a sweeping victory for pro-Europe parties in an election on Sunday, saying the vote showed people backed his plan to end a separatist conflict, his pro-Western course and democratic reforms. Poroshenko’s bloc was fractionally ahead of the party of his ally, Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk, with both taking over 21 percent of the votes cast from a field of 29 competing parties, early figures from the vote count showed on Monday. Addressing Ukrainians two hours after polling ended on Sunday night, he thanked voters for backing a "democratic, reformist, pro-Ukrainian and pro-European majority". "The majority of voters were in favour of the political forces that support the president’s peace plan and seek a political solution to the situation in the Donbass," Poroshenko said, referring to the region of the industrialised east where government forces have been fighting separatist rebels. The result […]

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Russia, EU energy chiefs meet one-on-one

Russian and European energy bosses meet in Brussels to discuss Ukrainian gas crisis. (File/UPI/Ivan Vakolenko) Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak met one-on-one with European Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger ahead of three-way talks that include Ukrainian delegates. Novak said earlier Tuesday he expected the meeting would result in a written agreement on the way to settle the long-standing issue. An already-fragile Ukrainian economy was left in further turmoil following the political upheaval that followed Kiev’s tilt toward the European Union in November. Russia meets about a quarter of European gas needs, though the bulk of that gas runs through a Ukrainian pipeline network. Last week, Oettinger said EU member states could stave off winter gas shortages . "No household in the EU has to be left out in the cold this winter," he said. Gazprom said Monday it filled European underground gas storage facilities with about 80 percent of the […]

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Russia slaps conditions on Ukraine gas deal

Breaking point: Ukraine has had to import gas from its neighbours since Russia cut off its supply ©Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP Russia has raised further conditions for resuming gas supplies to Ukraine, dashing hopes that a deal to safeguard Europe’s energy supply this winter would be agreed on Tuesday. Moscow cut gas exports to Ukraine in June amid a payment dispute, and talks on restarting flows have been weighed down by the conflict between Kiev’s forces and pro-Russian militias. However, many officials had expected that a new deal on a gas price and a timetable for settling debts would be reached at a meeting in Brussels. More On this story Editorial Europe needs will to build energy union Energy spat tests EU resolve Moscow and Kiev talks end in an impasse UK blocks €5bn Russian North Sea deal On this topic Kremlin acts to silence human rights group Editorial Putin is […]

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Ukraine Fighting Batters Truce Before Gas Talks Begin

A Ukrainian serviceman aims a mortar in the village Peski near town of Donetsk,… Read More Photographer: Aleksey Chernyshev/AFP via Getty Images Talks aimed at ensuring Russian natural gas deliveries to Ukraine this winter are being held with the European Union in Brussels today as fighting continues in Ukraine’s war-torn east in defiance of a six week-old truce. EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger , Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and his Ukrainian counterpart Yuri Prodan are attending the talks that are supposed to end at 2 p.m. yet may take longer than planned, officials said. The standoff between the two former Soviet republics is coming to a head four months after Russia halted gas shipments over a pricing and debt dispute as a separatist insurrection raged in eastern Ukraine. The EU, which depends on Russian fuel piped across Ukraine for about 15 percent of its needs, has been seeking […]

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EU to talk gas with Moscow, Kiev

EU schedules another round of gas talks after Russian President Vladimir Putin sees signs of a breakthrough. UPI/Stephen Shaver "The next trilateral gas meeting between Commission Vice-President Gunther Oettinger , Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuri Prodan will take place on Tuesday in Brussels," the commission said in a statement . Multilateral meetings in Milan last week were aimed at resolving a geopolitical crisis in Ukraine that spilled over into the regional energy sector. Ukraine’s political upheaval in November left an already battered economy short on cash and the billions of dollars Kiev owes to Russian energy company Gazprom leaves downstream European consumers at risk . Russian President Vladimir Putin said progress had been made during the latest round of talks. While gas supplies were ensured for the short-term, the president said the cash situation in Kiev was another story. "We are aware of the […]

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No sign of breakthrough as Russia, Ukraine meet in Milan

MILAN (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko met an array of EU leaders on Friday, but there was little sign of progress in patching up a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine and resolving a dispute over natural gas supplies. Putin held more than 2-1/2 hours of talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel overnight. The Kremlin said afterwards the pair were still at odds over how to resolve a crisis that has revived the specter of old Cold War rivalries. "The two leaders continued to express serious differences in views on the source of Ukraine’s domestic conflict, as well as root causes for what is happening there today," the Kremlin said in a statement. The West has imposed sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea earlier this year and its support of pro-Russian separatists fighting in the east of Ukraine. European leaders in Milan for […]

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