Russia Reportedly Says That The EU Can’t Re-Export Gas To Ukraine

AFP

SEP. 26, 2014

AFP

Frankfurt (AFP) – Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak warned Friday that Europe is contractually not allowed to re-export gas to Ukraine and could see its supplies cut if it did so. 

In an interview with the business daily Handelsblatt published ahead of a new round of talks in Berlin between Russia, Ukraine and the European Commission on Friday, Novak insisted that Moscow would meet all its contractual commitments. 

“But the agreed contracts do not foresee a re-export,” Novak said.

“We hope that our European partners will stick to the agreements. That is the only way to ensure there are no interruptions in gas deliveries to European consumers,” Novak said. 

The comments come ahead of fresh talks in Berlin between Russia, Ukraine and the EU Commission. Russia suspended deliveries to Ukraine in June due to a price dispute and that could affect supplies to some European countries. 

Russia says Ukraine owes it $5.3 billion for unpaid gas deliveries. 

“We’re prepared not to demand immediate payment straight away. The Ukrainian group Naftogaz should pay $2.0 billion now and we can restructure the rest of the debt,” Novak told the newspaper. 

China Says May Get More Involved in EU Rescue Funds

Published: Thursday, 2 Feb 2012 

China is considering increasing its participation in the rescue funds aimed at resolving the European debt crisis, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told journalists on Thursday.

Attila Kisbenedek | AFP | Getty Images Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao

But Wen did not made any explicit financial commitments for the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) or the upcoming European Stability Mechanism (ESM).

At a joint media briefing in Beijing with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Wen said China is still studying how it might lend further support.

"China is also considering increasing its participation in the solution of the European debt crisis through the channels of the EFSF and ESM," Wen said.

The ESM, a 500-billion-euro ($650 billion) permanent bailout fund that is due to become operational in July, is expected to replace the EFSF, a temporary fund that has been used to bail out Ireland and Portugal and will help in the second Greek package.

China, with its $3.2 trillion worth foreign exchange reserves, is often seen as a potential source for the funds that are needed to bail out some European governments.

China has repeatedly said it supports a stable euro, and according to most estimate, China has about a quarter of its foreign exchange reserves in euro assets.

However, Beijing has consistently been reluctant to make specific promises about any contributions to the rescue funds.

Merkel told reporters that Chinese leaders again stressed in their discussions that European leaders must do their homework first to resolve the eurozone crisis.

Ahead of Merkel's visit, few analysts expected her to come away with specific commitments and instead characterised the visit as a confidence-building effort as Germany seeks Beijing's support for the ailing euro.

Wen stated that it is very important for the euro debt crisis to be resolved and said Beijing will support Europe's efforts in stabilising the euro.

But he reiterated that Europe must rely on itself to solve its own problems.

Wen did not mention whether China would participate in the fund-raising by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), although he said he supported a bigger IMF role in addressing Europe's debt crisis.

China and other countries beyond the 17-country euro bloc want to see its members stump up more money before they commit additional resources to the IMF, which had requested an additional 500 billion euros in funding.