Putin Proposes that Europe Pays to Pump Gas West

Russia' s prime minister, Vladimir Putin, is proposing that European gas consumers form a consortium to buy the so-called "technical gas" used to push Russian natural gas through Ukraine's pipelinesto Europe.

By: Associated Press | WSAV News 3
Published: January 15, 2009

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MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's prime minister is proposing that European gas consumers form a consortium to buy the so-called "technical gas" used to push Russian natural gas through Ukraine's pipelines
to Europe.

The proposal by Vladimir Putin comes in the second week of an acrimonious dispute that has kept Russian gas from European consumers since Jan. 7. Millions of people and thousands of
businesses, mostly in eastern Europe, have been affected.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a conference call Thursday that Ukraine would ultimately be responsible for paying for this technical gas but that prices have not been discussed.

Russia's demand that Ukraine pay $450 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas - more than twice what it paid last year - is one of the key issues in the dispute.