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EU examines risks of Russian gas shortage

Europe examining risks of a gas shortage stemming from geopolitical crises in Ukraine. (File/UPI/Ivan Vakolenko) BRUSSELS, Oct. 17 (UPI) — If members of the European Union show some solidarity, they’ll be able to cope with a potential Russian gas shortage, the European energy commissioner said. The European Commission unveiled a report Friday highlighting the short-term recommendations needed to stave off a possible winter gas shortage. "For the very first time, we have a complete picture of the risks and possible solutions," Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger said in a statement. "If we work together, show solidarity and implement the recommendations of this report, no household in the EU has to be left out in the cold this winter." Multilateral meetings in Milan are aimed at resolving a geopolitical crisis in Ukraine that spills over into the regional energy sector. Ukraine’s political upheaval in November left an already battered economy short […]

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Russian and Ukrainian presidents fail to reach breakthrough

Vladimir Putin (left) with Matteo Renzi (centre) and Petro Poroshenko (right) at the summit in Milan on Friday ©AFP Vladimir Putin and Petro Poroshenko, the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, failed to reach a breakthrough to end the crisis in Ukraine , after a day of intense negotiations brokered by EU leaders in Milan. Mr Putin and Mr Poroshenko discussed a number of thorny issues, from allowing drones to monitor the border between the two countries to the structure of local elections in the pro-Russian separatist region of eastern Ukraine . They pledged to enforce a truce agreed last month that has since been frequently breached. More On this story Putin’s meeting with old pal dims focus on Ukraine Russia takes EU to court over sanctions Hungary questions EU sanctions on Russia UK blocks €5bn Russian North Sea deal On this topic Moscow battles to ease dollar shortage EU rebuffs […]

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Russia says it has the right to hit U.S. with sanctions

Russia says it has the right to hit back in response to U.S. sanctions targeting its energy sector. UPI/Dennis Van Tine Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the Kremlin likely won’t issue reactive sanctions against the United States, but felt the measures targeting the Russian energy sector were reflexive. "Strictly speaking, we now have every right amid this mass of anti-Russian US sanctions to impose sanctions against the United States non-stop and in all the areas," he told state news agency RIA Novosti . The Russian economy is struggling to cope with sanctions imposed on its energy sector in response the Kremlin’s posture on the conflict in Ukraine. Exports of crude oil, petroleum products and natural gas accounted for nearly 70 of all Russian export revenues in 2013 and the Russian Central Bank said it was struggling to keep Russian inflation in check because of U.S. and European sanctions. […]

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Russia takes EU to court over Ukraine sanctions

Russia state oil company Rosneft is challenging the EU sanctions in court ©Reuters Russia is taking the EU to court over sanctions imposed on some of its biggest companies. The move is a sign of the pain that the companies’ exclusion from global capital markets is inflicting on the Russian economy . Rosneft , the state oil company, and Arkady Rotenberg, a long-time friend and former judo sparring partner of President Vladimir Putin , have both launched legal challenges to the sanctions, imposed over Russia’s actions in Ukraine . The EU bans, with similar measures adopted by the US, have all but frozen Russian companies and banks out of western capital markets, at a time when they have to refinance more than $130bn of foreign debt due for redemption by the end of 2015. Rosneft filed a case against the EU’s European Council in the general court under the […]

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Ukraine fears frozen conflict could yield winter energy crisis

An elderly man walks near snow covered cars during a heavy storm in the Ukraine capital Kiev on March 23, 2013. Kiev administration declared a state of emergency in the city. AFP PHOTO/SERGEI SUPINSKY (Photo credit should read SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP/Getty Images) ©AFP At the Foxtrot appliance store in Kiev, the must-have product these days is a Delonghi electric heater. “This is the last one left of 20 delivered to our store just a day ago,” Oleksander, a sales clerk, said, pointing to one of the Italian-made devices and noting that sales have increased fivefold from a year ago. More On this story Russia’s defence budget hit by slowdown Energy Can Europe wean itself off Russian gas? Risto Penttila Sanctions hurt everyone Drones plan to monitor Ukraine ceasefire On this topic Hungary halts flow of gas to Ukraine Spain’s EC nominee sells oil holdings Ukraine gas deadlock poses threat to […]

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Kiev agrees to pay some Russian gas debt

Ukraine ready to settle some of its gas debt obligations, Russia says. (UPI Photo/Sergey Starostenko) MOSCOW, Oct. 13 (UPI) — Kiev is ready to settle a little less than half of its gas debt obligations to Russian energy company Gazprom by year’s end, the Kremlin said Monday. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Ukraine was ready to pay $1.45 billion of the $3.1 billion owed by the end of the year. The rest of the debt would be settled by March 2015. Novak said the repayment was among the conditions for new gas deliveries to Ukraine. Gazprom this year disrupted gas supplies to Ukraine because of lingering debt issues. Similar rows in 2006 and 2009 left downstream consumers in Europe in the cold for weeks as most of the Russian gas bound for western markets runs through the Soviet-era pipeline network in Ukraine. European, Russian and Ukrainian leaders are […]

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As Putin Talks Near, Both Sides Take Steps to Defuse Ukraine Tension

DONETSK, Ukraine — Russian and Ukrainian officials on Sunday continued a series of measured steps aimed at decreasing tensions before the countries’ presidents meet this week to discuss the six-month conflict in Ukraine ’s east. Despite the continuing fighting over disputed territories, President Petro O. Poroshenko of Ukraine said he believed that a full cease-fire could soon be achieved under a peace plan that he and Russia ’s president, Vladimir V. Putin , had endorsed. On Sunday, Russian news agencies reported that Mr. Putin had ordered troops deployed on the Ukrainian border to return to their bases. It was the second time this year that Mr. Putin had announced that military exercises along the Ukrainian border had been completed and that 17,600 soldiers would be withdrawn to their usual bases. Mr. Putin ordered the pullback from the Rostov region, which borders Ukraine, in a meeting with his defense minister, […]

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Kremlin agrees to trilateral gas talk schedule

Russia agrees to Oct. 21 date to talk with EU and Ukrainian leaders about gas issues. (File/UPI Photo/Sergey Starostenko) MOSCOW, Oct. 10 (UPI) — The Kremlin said Friday it agreed on a date for the next round of talks aimed at resolving a Ukrainian gas issue endangering European energy security. "The Russian side has agreed to the proposed date of three-party talks in the Russia-Ukraine-EU format to discuss uninterrupted transit of gas via the territory of Ukraine," the Russian Energy Ministry said. "The new round of talks will take place Oct. 21 in Berlin." Ukraine under an interim deal would pay the $3.1 billion it owes Russian energy Gazprom. Ukraine, in return, would get a price discount and assurances of adequate winter natural gas supplies. Russia sends most of its gas for European consumers through the Soviet-era transit network in Ukraine. Contractual disputes in 2006 and 2009 between Kiev […]

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Ukraine worried about gas shortages

Ukrainian official worried about prospects for gas shortages during the upcoming winter. UPI/Ivan Vakolenko Ukraine needs to secure a reliable natural gas partner as shortages are expected during the upcoming winter, a Cabinet official said. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights this week said energy security issues in Ukraine may take on a humanitarian tone as residents there fear there could be a natural gas shortage this winter. Cabinet Minist Ostap Semerak told Ukrainian news agency Glavkom some of those fears may come to fruition . "We will have a gas shortage … for the upcoming winter," he said in an interview published Thursday. "We must find this gas in order to survive the winter [and] to ensure the effective work of the economy." The World Bank this week said lingering tensions in Ukraine were taking their toll on the nation’s economy, though many of the problems stem […]

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Ukraine Sees Shelling Worsen as Merkel Says Truce Not Met

Ukraine reported intensified shelling in its war-ravaged east as German said the terms of a month-old truce aren’t being met. The government reported one death among its forces the past day, saying pro-Russian insurgents fired artillery rounds at the military on 33 occasions. While the cease-fire “isn’t flawless,” the tendency in Ukraine is “unambiguously positive,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. The rebels yesterday described the truce as all but dead. “It’s obvious that the Minsk agreement isn’t implemented yet,” Merkel said today after talks with Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz in Berlin. Drones could be used to monitor the truce, “but the condition for everything is that the cease-fire really holds. You can see how fragile the situation is right now.” While the truce, sealed Sept. 5, has reduced the bloodshed in Ukraine’s easternmost regions, it’s been marred by daily violence. There have been at least 331 deaths […]

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