Russia turns off gas supply to Ukraine after talks fail

June 16, 2014

The tension between Russia and Ukraine has further intensified with Russia cutting off the gas supply to Ukraine. Both countries blamed the other for the failure of talks in Kiev.
The gas issue is one more dispute between the two countries, besides the annexation of Crimea peninsula by Russia. Kiev has accused Moscow of inciting unrest in the eastern region of the country.
The CEO of Russia’s state gas company, Gazprom, alleged that the Ukrainians were trying to “blackmail” Russia into giving them a lower price and had failed to repay a huge debt accrued over recent years.
As per Ukraine’s PM, the gas talks were part of a “general Russian plan to destroy Ukraine”.
The relationship between Russia and Ukraine are under severe strain since Moscow annexed Crimea in February 2014. The move to stop gas supply will impact the Europe as about 15% of the EU’s gas supply is Russian gas piped through Ukraine.
Although, Russia will continue to supply gas to Europe but Gazprom has warned there were substantial risks for gas transportation to the EU via Ukraine.

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