Energy: Russia ready to cut gas supplies to Ukraine

Russia is prepared to cut off gas supplies if Ukraine does not sign a contract agreeing to a 400% price increase.

Alexei Miller, the chief of Russian gas company Gazprom, said in a statement, "If Ukraine does not sign a contract on the purchase of gas in the remaining hours before the start of the new year, on January 1 at 10:00 a.m. Moscow time (0700 GMT) gas supplies from the territory of the Russian Federation to Ukraine will be completely cut off".

In an interview with radio Era FM in Kiev, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yury Ekhanurov, said that 12 proposals put forward by Ukraine were not accepted by the Russians.

Gazprom, holds a third of the world's natural gas reserves