A gas pressure gauge is seen at a snow-covered transit point on the main pipeline from Russia in the village of Boyarka, near Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009. A natural gas crisis loomed over Europe on Tuesday, as a contract dispute between Russia and Ukraine shut off Russian gas supplies to six countries and reduced gas deliveries to several others. Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Croatia and Turkey all reported a halt in gas shipments. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov) (Sergei Chuzavkov - AP)
The restart of nuclear power plants that are ancient and unsafe is not the answer to Russia's best economic strategy either. There can't be that much of a delay in placing Russian Monitors if there is cooperation in doing so between the two countries. Medvedev's administration needs to ACCOMMODATE the needs of those that are experiencing dangerous delays in gas supply. If all the wrinkles are worked out there should be no delay. It is called good faith. This is no longer an EU problem and they have done everything Russia has requested.
...While the EU monitors were in position last night, Sechin said the Russian experts were not yet stationed in Ukraine, signalling that the deal could still be aborted. Differences over who should pay for "fuel" gas that is used to keep up the pressure in the pipelines for pumping the natural gas to clients could also disrupt the fragile accord and spell more misery for hundreds of thousands of households in central and southern Europe.
Slovakia, which is dependent on Russian gas, said it would have to restart its decommissioned Chernobyl-design reactor at Bohunice, near the border with Austria, because it had received no supplies since Thursday. The nuclear plant is widely viewed as unsafe and its closure was one of the conditions for Slovakia joining the EU in 2004.
Austria, which has banned nuclear power, deplored the move. The environment minister, Nikolaus Berlakovich, described decision to restart the Soviet-era reactor as "completely unacceptable".... (click title to entry - thank you)
