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Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller has warned against another gas crisis early next year due to Ukraine's insolvency and the political uncertainty which could follow presidential elections in January.
European Commission President José Manuel Barroso warned EU leaders at a 19 June summit that European nations must not sleepwalk into another gas crisis, which he said could hit Europe within weeks as tensions between Ukraine and Russia resurface (EurActiv 19/06/09).
Ukraine transports the bulk of Russian gas supplies to Europe and is seeking $4-5 billion of funding to build up stockpiles of gas before winter, when demand is expected to rise by a third (EurActiv 17/01/09).
Gazprom needs to store gas in Ukraine, because the capacity of the transit system does not allow it to fully serve Europe's needs during a cold winter without using Ukraine's underground storage facilities. Gazprom says it cannot simply store gas in Ukraine for fear that Kiev will misappropriate it.
Last July, the EU and other international lenders agreed to intensify talks with Ukraine over possible loans to help Kiev pay for Russian gas and avert a new crisis that could cut off supplies to Europe.
In return, Ukraine promised to raise household gas prices and enforce payment of bills to strengthen the finances of its national gas company, Naftogaz (EurActiv 20/07/09).
As an illustration of the decline in Russia-Ukraine relations, Moscow recently accused Kiev of having supported Georgian troops in the brief war that opposed Moscow and Tbilisi last year (EurActiv 25/08/09).
Over the weekend (12 September), the Gazprom CEO said Ukraine was at present paying its dues, but expressed fears that the country could not foot its next bill, due on 7 February 2010. He also expressed concern over the political chaos that may follow the 17 January presidential elections.
"When I meet with colleagues from [Ukraine state energy firm] Naftogaz Ukraine and I ask them what will happen in 2010, they tell me: we simply don't know," said Miller, quoted by Reuters.
Ukraine's Naftogaz dismissed Miller's concerns as baseless.
"De facto, there are no reasons for a repeat gas crisis," a spokesman said. He added that for the first time in its history, Ukraine had enough gas in store to meet its winter needs.
Miller's comments were seen in Kiev as another attempt to smear the country ahead of the elections. In an interview with the Financial Times, Yushchenko said: "There are a lot of hidden and cynical schemes being played out in the economic and media spheres aimed at discrediting Ukraine."
Experts say the outcome of the elections is uncertain. Indeed, the open conflict between the main protagonists of the 2004 'Orange Revolution, President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko, appears to have eroded their popularity, with Russian-favoured candidate Viktor Yanukovich topping opinion polls at present.
In his message of congratulations to mark Russian President Dimitry Medvedev's birthday, Yanukovich wrote today (14 September) that he was convinced that relations between Ukraine and Russia would soon "benefit from a new beginning, based on century-long friendship".
Gazprom, which supplies a quarter of Europe's gas, has already paid advance transit fees to Ukraine until the first quarter of 2010.
Medvedev last week ordered Gazprom to stop making advance payments in a clear signal that Russia is first waiting to see who will lead Ukraine.
For its part, Ukraine has been trying, albeit unsuccessfully, to reduce its gas imports from Russia as demand in Western Europe has dropped.
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