With Petroshenko agreeing to extend today's cease-fire deadline for 3 days, the Russians, unfortunately, are not optimistic after the 'expert-level' talks in Europe. Given this, it appears Russia is preparing its retaliation for possible further sanctions that are being waved by Europe and the US. As AP reports, Russia's state-controlled gas company, Gazprom, says it could limit supplies to European customers that intend to re-sell the natural gas on to Ukraine. Whil enot naming specific countries, the Gazprom CEO explained he needed to clamp down on the so-called reverse-flow supplies the the cut-off Ukraine as they were "half-fraudulent schemes."
Russia not optimistic...
- *RUSSIA NOT OPTIMISTIC AFTER EXPERT-LEVEL EU TALKS JUST ENDED
- *RUSSIA EXPECTS CONSTRUCTIVE APPROACH FROM EU, UKRAINE
And appear to be preparing for sanctions...
*GAZPROM MAY LIMIT EU COS. SENDING GAS IN REVERSE GAS TO UKRAINE
Russia's state-controlled gas company, Gazprom, says it could limit supplies to European customers that intend to re-sell the natural gas on to Ukraine.
Gazprom's CEO Alexei Miller said Friday that the company is closely monitoring the situation and may curb shipments to European nations that would pump the Russian gas to Ukraine in the so-called reverse supplies, which he has described as a "half-fraudulent scheme." He wouldn't name any specific countries.
Gazprom this month cut gas shipments to Ukraine amid a debt and pricing dispute. Supplies to Europe via Ukraine and other pipelines haven't been affected, however. Ukraine has sought to counter the Russian move by trying to negotiate gas supplies from other European countries that buy Russian gas.
And if the West thinks sanctions will slow them down... think again...
- *GAZPROM TO REPLACE CENTRAL ASIAN GAS SUPPLIES WITH RUSSIAN FUEL
- *GAZPROM, CHINA TO SIGN CONTRACT ON ADDITIONAL 30BCM/YR OF GAS
So D-Day is now Tuesday...
