Ukraine blames poor gas flow on weak pressure

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has blamed the poor gas flow to Europe on weak pressure, the Czech EU presidency said on Tuesday. In a phone conversation with Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek, who brokered the agreement on the resumption of gas supplies to Europe, Prime Minister Tymoshenko blamed technical difficulties, specifically the pressure of gas arriving from the Russian Federation being too low. According to the Czech presidency she "promised to act" on a recommendation from Mr. Topolánek that Ukrainian authorities seek assistance from European gas experts "immediately." Earlier a spokesman for Ukraine's state gas company Naftogaz said that Kiev had blocked the transit of gas to Europe because of "unacceptable transit conditions" imposed by Russian energy giant Gazprom.

The six day halt in deliveries has hit Europe hard, with some states, such as Slovakia and Bulgaria, declaring an energy emergency. The Czech EU presidency on Monday stressed the need for the EU to speed up work on a common energy policy.