Russia warns it could limit supplies to European customers who would pump gas back to Ukraine
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Russian state-run natural giant Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller attends an annual shareholders' meeting in the Gazprom headquarters in Moscow, Russia, Friday, June 27, 2014. Gazprom halted supplies to Ukraine last week amid a dispute over Ukraine’s mounting debts, raising fears of disruption in Russian gas supplies to Europe.(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) (The Associated Press)
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.