* Poland says gas supply via Ukraine falls 11 percent
* Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary also affected
* Russia boosts exports via alternative routes
* EU calls crisis meeting for Monday
By Pavel Polityuk and Dmitry Zhdannikov
KIEV/MOSCOW, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Russian gas flows to four
European Union countries were below normal levels on Saturday
after Moscow cut off supplies to Ukraine in a pricing row, and
there were no talks in sight to resolve the dispute.
With temperatures below zero overnight in Europe, Bulgaria's
Bulgargaz operator joined energy firms in Poland, Romania and
Hungary in saying they had noted falls in supply, though flows
to Europe's biggest economy, Germany, were not affected.
The European Union, which gets a fifth of its gas from
pipelines that cross Ukraine, said it would call a crisis
meeting of envoys in Brussels on Monday and demanded that
transit and supply contracts be honoured.
But the prospects of a swift settlement to the dispute
appeared remote. Moscow alleged Kiev was stealing gas intended
for Europe and playing political games, while Ukraine accused
Russia of using "energy blackmail."
Three years after a similar dispute briefly disrupted
supplies, European fears of gas flows dropping off in the dead
of winter were once again becoming a reality -- and Russia's
reputation as a reliable gas supplier was under new scrutiny.
Poland, which had earlier reported a drop in Russian
supplies, said deliveries via Ukraine were now down 11 percent.
Hungary said pressure in its pipeline from Ukraine had recovered
slightly but was still below normal levels.
Russia's gas export monopoly Gazprom <GAP.MM> said it was
increasing deliveries to Europe by 52 million cubic metres per
day, or about 16 percent, to compensate for the fuel it accused
Ukraine of either blocking or stealing.
The extra deliveries were being pumped around Ukraine --
through Belarus and Turkey -- as well as from underground
storage facilities in Europe.
Russia halted all supplies to Ukraine on New Year's day in
what it called a purely commercial dispute, but in the
background is a fierce disagreement over a drive by Kiev's
pro-Western leaders to join NATO.
Europe has enough gas stockpiled to manage without Russian
supplies for several days. It could face difficulties should
problems last for weeks, especially if cold weather drives up
demand, analysts said.
Signalling that a way out of the gas row was still some way
off, Gazprom said Kiev was not ready to resume negotiations.
"They are not negotiating because there is nobody to
negotiate. It looks like they are not thinking about their own
country, just playing political games," said Gazprom deputy CEO
Alexander Medvedev.
RULES OF BEHAVIOUR
The Gazprom official had talks with officials in the Czech
Republic, holder of the EU's rotating presidency, just hours
after a delegation from Ukraine had also been there to try to
lobby for European support.
"Europe must be interested in helping to solve the dispute
as quickly as possible ... What we need from the EU is their
help to persuade Ukraine to follow the rules of behaviour at the
negotiating table," Medvedev told Reuters in an interview.
Ukraine, already reeling from the effects of the global
financial crisis, denied it was stealing gas intended for Europe
and instead alleged Gazprom had itself cut flows via Ukraine.
"Gazprom's position breaches international practices of
holding negotiations ... and amounts to energy blackmail,"
Ukrainian state energy firm Naftogaz said in a statement.
Naftogaz chief Oleh Dubyna said his officials were ready to
go to Moscow at any moment to resume talks that collapsed on New
Year's Eve. But he said they would only go if there was a
mutually acceptable deal on the table.
The gulf between the two sides is vast. Russia is demanding
Ukraine pay $418 per 1,000 cubic metres of gas this year. Dubyna
said that price could tip Ukraine into a humanitarian crisis.
Meanwhile, Gazprom's Medvedev told Reuters Kiev's proposal
that Russia supply gas in exchange for the right to ship its gas
to Europe via Ukraine was "beyond commercial logic."
European Union customers pay about $500 per 1,000 cubic
metres of Russian gas, though that price is set to drop in line
with the falling price of crude.
In Sofia, Bulgargaz CEO Dimitar Gogov said supply levels had
not fallen below a critical level but further reductions could
force the company to introduce restrictions for customers.
"The pipeline pressure has dropped and we are getting
smaller deliveries as of Saturday morning," Gotov told Reuters.
