EU threatens 3-way gas summit

Talks between Gazprom and the EU are planned in Berlin, but so far the company is standing firm. The Deputy Chairman Alexander Medvedev said: “Gazprom did everything possible to avoid gas shortages in Europe. Our options are not in any way unlimited.” A delegation from the Czech presidency of the European Union met Ukrainian officials in Kiev.

Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said: “Negotiations to resolve the crisis could be held between the EU and the heads of both Russia and Ukraine. If the situation remains as it is, that is one of the options that we are considering.”

But he said the three-way summit was an extreme option and called on Kiev and Moscow first to reach agreement. The EU has until now preferred to stay out of the row, saying it does not want to be the arbiter of a commercial dispute.

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tags: European Union, Russia, Ukraine