“From the beginning of this year, in the absence of a contract for gas supply to Ukrainian consumers, unauthorized withdrawal of the natural gas intended for European consumers took place in Ukraine. Currently, the rates of unauthorized withdrawal of the Russian gas intended for European consumers are growing in Ukraine. Gazprom has taken measures to eliminate possibility of illegal actions by Naftogaz Ukrainy. Gas supplies to Ukraine have been reduced. We take further steps to satisfy the demand of our European consumers: additional volumes of gas are supplied across Belarus and via the Blue Stream pipeline, we use our reserves contained in European underground gas storage facilities and perform operations at the spot market. The Ukrainian party is to blame for the current situation.

We are surprised with the statements of intention to continue negotiations not earlier than on January 8. With crisis situation in mind we are ready to start negotiations at any moment. Gazprom has always been and will be a reliable gas supplier,” said Sergey Kupriyanov, the official spokesman of OAO Gazprom.