Ukraine seeks resolution with Gazprom

MOSCOW, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- The Ukrainian energy minister led a delegation to Moscow to make a final attempt to resolve a row over gas debts with Gazprom before supplies are disrupted.

Russian energy monopoly Gazprom says Ukraine needs to pay $2 billion in gas debt before Wednesday or face disruptions in natural gas deliveries from Jan. 1.

A similar row in 2006 cut Europe off from Russian natural gas for several days. Around 80 percent of the Russian gas bound for Europe travels through Ukraine.

E.ON, the Gazprom customer in Germany, said there was no need to forecast possible disruptions from the latest row with Ukraine.

"This dispute has been going on for years," E.ON said in a statement. "In all this time there has never been any serious disruptions for supplies to Germany."

Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan said he had "hope" that a deal could be brokered before the end of the year. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, however, accused Ukraine of avoiding its debt obligations, the Financial Times said Tuesday.

"They don't want to pay," Putin said.

Ukraine had received gas from Russia at a significant discount, though Gazprom in statements Monday said it was exploring raising that price for 2009 deliveries to $415 per 1,000 cubic meters. The current rate is $179.50.