Germany said Thursday that local gas supplies were assured even if Russia's decision to halt deliveries to Ukraine disrupted distribution farther afield. Economy Minister Michael Glos at the same time called on Moscow and Kiev “to find without delay” an acceptable solution to their dispute over payment. “German gas distributors prepared carefully for just such an eventuality. All necessary measures have been taken so as to be able to react appropriately in case” Russian gas supplies transiting via Ukraine are disrupted,” Glos said in a statement. He said commitments had been given that Russian gas deliveries to third countries should not be called into question. “Bilateral problems should not jeopardize” such commitments, he said, adding that Germany had large gas stocks and a diversified supply base. Russia earlier Thursday halted gas supply to Ukraine after the two ex-Soviet neighbors failed to agree on payment terms. Ukraine's gas company, Naftogaz, separately confirmed that the volume of gas it was receiving from Russia had dropped, but promised that transit of supplies meant for customers downstream in Europe would be guaranteed. A dispute over gas prices - Ukraine then paid just $50 per 1,000 cubic metres, Gazprom wanted to charge $230 - was complicated by accusations of corruption in the energy sector from Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Gazprom cut off supplies on Jan. 1 2006, but turned them on again a day later. European consumers complained their supplies had been hit. Gazprom accused Ukraine of stealing gas from export pipelines and Kiev denied any such move. In Brussels, THE new Czech EU presidency on Thursday insisted Moscow and Kiev must honor their commitments to provide natural gas to Europe after Russia halted supplies to Ukraine amid a payments row. “All existing commitments to supply and transit must be honoured,” said Czech Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra, just hours after his country assumed the EU presidency from France at the new year. The EU presidency and the European Commission said in a joint statement that they were “concerned” by the turn of events. “The Presidency and the Commission urge both sides and their governments to continue negotiations and rapidly reach a successful outcome so that gas supplies to the EU are not affected,” the statement said. Elsewhere Austrian oil and gas giant OMV said it was ready to tap its reserves if Russia's action hits imports. OMV, the largest oil and gas provider in central Europe, said that so far there had been no problems with supply to Austria. Meanwhile Poland said its gas deliveries from Russia were running normally via Ukraine. “The EU trusts that we can count upon assurances given that gas supplies to the EU will be unaffected as a demonstration of the reliability of its gas suppliers,” said the EU's Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, adding that the situation at the EU border would be “monitored closely.”
