MOSCOW, November 1 (RIA Novosti) - Russia"s...
The Russian government spokesperson said Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone to Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, and was reassured by that the Swedish prime minister would bring Russia"s concerns to the attention of the European Commission.
"During the meeting, Vladimir Putin focused the attention of the EU leadership on signals coming in, including through official channels from Kiev, regarding potential problems with payment for gas supplies," the official said.
Putin warned that payment problems could lead to difficulties for European consumers receiving Russian gas via Ukraine. A dispute between Moscow and Kiev at the start of the year over gas debts and 2009 deliveries left millions of Europeans without gas in January.
The Russian prime minister said on Friday that his Ukrainian counterpart, Yulia Tymoshenko, had told him by telephone that President Viktor Yushchenko was blocking payments for Russian gas supplies.