CRI听力:Moscow Warns Ukraine Gas Will Only Last Few More Days

Russia has sternly warned Ukraine that its pay for Russian gas would only last for a few more days, raising the spectra of another gas war with potential repercussions for Europe.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev held a meeting with President Vladimir Putin on Friday and raised the prospect of cutting off gas supplies to Ukraine.

Medvedev talked about an alternative route for gas deliveries.

"Yesterday, I instructed the Ministry of Energy and Gazprom and, taking into account the requests from the gas industry authorities of these republics -- Donetsk and Luhansk, to consider the possibility of gas deliveries there along an alternative route."
The move could affect European customers, who receive the bulk of Russian gas via pipelines crossing Ukraine.

Ukraine raised the pressure on opposition military forces on Thursday by cutting off shipments of natural gas to the area.

The national gas company Naftogaz linked the cut-off to damaged gas transit infrastructure and said supplies were resumed later in the day.

But Medvedev said that Ukraine has still failed to restore gas shipments to the east.

He reported to Putin that he ordered the Russian state gas company Gazprom to provide supplies directly to the east, which will be counted as part of the overall volume of Russian gas exports to Ukraine.

Russia now requires Ukraine to pay in advance for gas shipments, and Medvedev warned that its latest pay would only be good for another three to four days at the current level of consumption.

(Front, from L) Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, EU Commissioner for Energy Guenther Oettinger and Ukrainian Fuel and Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan sign an agreement in Brussels, Belgium, on October 30, 2014. Kiev and Moscow sealed a deal that would guarantee the delivery of Russian gas to Ukraine during the winter even as the two countries are bitterly at odds over eastern Ukraine. [File Photo: Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images/CFP]