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'Last chance' gas talks stumble 'Last chance' gas talks drag on
(about 2 hours later)
High-level talks in Moscow between the prime ministers of Russia and Ukraine have so far failed to resolve the dispute disrupting supplies of gas. Delicate, high-level talks in Moscow between Russia and Ukraine on the dispute disrupting gas supplies to Europe are continuing into the night.
Moscow has indicated that the Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko does not have the full authority needed to negotiate a deal, a claim denied by Ukraine. Earlier, Moscow sources suggested Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko lacked the authority needed to close a deal.
Almost 20 countries in Europe have been affected. Russia supplies gas to Western Europe via Ukraine. Despite public differences with President Viktor Yushchenko, sources in Kiev insisted she had a full mandate.
It switched off the gas this month amid payment and theft allegations. The EU has said the talks are Kiev and Moscow's "last chance" to show they are credible partners.
Earlier, the EU said the talks were Kiev and Moscow's "last chance".
Some central and east European states have been reduced to rationing gas, while others have been seeking alternatives to the pipelines carrying Russian gas via Ukraine.
See map of affected area See map of affected area
Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev said he hoped gas deliveries would begin in the next few days. EU states import a quarter of their gas from Russia and 80% of supplies come via Ukraine. Almost 20 countries in Europe have been affected by the dispute.
The BBC's Richard Galpin in Moscow says Brussels stepped up pressure to bring an end to the EU's worst ever energy crisis, ahead of Saturday's meeting between Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and the Ukrainian PM. Russia switched off the gas this month, accusing Ukraine firstly of failing to pay for its own supply, then later of stealing gas meant for other countries.
European Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger said the talks "offer the last and best chance for Russia and Ukraine to demonstrate they are serious about resolving this dispute". Some central and east European states have been reduced to rationing gas, while others have been seeking alternatives to the Ukrainian pipelines.
Ukrainians burn a poster of Mr Putin as a Gollum figure turning off a gas pipe "The gas must flow. We will regard this period as a test case for judging whether or not they are credible partners." An emergency summit called by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for Saturday ran into difficulty after EU leaders heeded a call by the Czech Republic, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, to stay away in order for Brussels to speak with one voice.
EU states import a quarter of their gas from Russia and 80% of supplies come via Ukraine. The gas dispute has created the EU's worst ever energy crisis, the BBC's Richard Galpin reports from Moscow.
Russia halted supplies of gas to Ukraine on 1 January after talks on the price Kiev should pay in 2009 collapsed. 'As long as needed'
A week later it cut the supply to Europe via Ukraine, saying it was forced to do so because Kiev was stealing the gas. Saturday's talks opened with a meeting between Mrs Tymoshenko and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Ukrainian officials deny the allegation and accuse Russia of provoking the crisis. No EU head of state attended the Moscow gas summit
Rival positions Officials from Russia's Gazprom and Ukrainian state energy company Naftogaz later joined them at government house.
Mr Putin, fresh from a visit to Germany, one of Moscow's biggest gas clients, said on Friday that a deal could be nearer after he discussed the formation of a gas transit consortium. With no sign of an early breakthrough, Mr Putin's spokesman announced that "broader talks" had begun.
He said a deal was being brokered between Russia's Gazprom and EU firms to cover part of the cost of pumping gas from Russia to Europe. "They will last as long as is needed," Dmitry Peskov added.
It is not clear whether Ukraine would accept such a deal. A source close to the Russian side said it appeared that Mrs Tymoshenko, a former gas trader, lacked the necessary mandate to discuss a solution and had come to Moscow "empty-handed", Reuters news agency reports.
Meanwhile, divisions exist in Ukraine over the domestic supply and transit supplies. This was rebutted by a source in President Yushchenko's office in Kiev who said: "The prime minister has a full mandate at the talks. Otherwise, she would not be taking part in them."
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has said the two contracts were linked but Mrs Tymoshenko, his political rival, argued they were not connected. But, on the eve of the talks, sharp divisions emerged between Ukraine's president and prime minister, political foes in a fragile coalition government.
"The issue of natural gas supplies to Ukraine and the issue of transit are interlinked and must be discussed as a single package," Mr Yushchenko's office said on the eve of the Moscow talks. Mr Yushchenko's office insisted the Moscow talks must combine gas supplies to Ukraine with transit supplies to Europe in "a single package".
Speaking the same day, Mrs Tymoshenko said: "The Ukrainian government does not link the issue of concluding an agreement on [Russian] gas supplies to Ukraine with the issue of resuming gas transit to Europe." Mrs Tymoshenko for her part said: "The Ukrainian government does not link the issue of concluding an agreement on [Russian] gas supplies to Ukraine with the issue of resuming gas transit to Europe."
Such a link, she added, would be "groundless and unfair". "Simply speaking, I need two things: Don't throw a spoke in the wheel and don't stab any backs," she said before leaving Kiev.
She also demanded that Ukraine speak with one voice in the negotiations. 'Last chance'
"Simply speaking, I need two things: Don't throw a spoke in the wheel and don't stab any backs," she said in Kiev. Speaking after the summit, which was attended by the Czechs and non-EU states which also receive Russian gas, President Medvedev said he was certain the transit dispute would be resolved "in the nearest future".
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has invited EU leaders to an emergency gas summit on Saturday but it appears that only envoys will be sent, including EU Energy Commissioner Andries Pielbags. Ukrainians burn a poster of Mr Putin as a Gollum figure turning off a gas pipe
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was scathing about the decision not to send EU heads of state. He also reiterated Moscow's position that Kiev had to pay European-level prices for gas supplies - a jump from $179.5 per 1,000 cubic metres to $450.
"We expect anyone interested in resolving the problem as soon as possible to come to the summit being held in Moscow tomorrow," he said on Friday. "There is nothing damaging about that - it's the money our other partners pay and Ukraine is in a position to pay it," he said.
He urged the EU to "show its famous solidarity" and put pressure on Ukraine. name="map"> Ukraine, which is gripped by an economic crisis, says it cannot afford such high prices and wants Russia to pay higher transit fees.
Russia is seeking a deal with EU firms to cover part of the cost of pumping gas from Russia to Europe.
In Brussels, the Czech presidency said it was not satisfied by the gas talks in Moscow and urged both sides to reach a deal.
"We expected both parties to announce that they had reached an agreement on the resumption of Russian gas supply to the EU via Ukraine - this was not the case," said Czech Industry and Trade Minister Martin Riman.
Earlier, European Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger said the Moscow talks offered "the last and best chance for Russia and Ukraine to demonstrate they are serious about resolving this dispute".
"The gas must flow," he added. "We will regard this period as a test case for judging whether or not they are credible partners."
  
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