* Poland says gas supply via Ukraine falls 11 percent
* Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary also affected
* Russia boosts exports via alternative routes
* EU says has sufficient reserves, urged deal
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.
Temperatures were below zero overnight in Europe, and
Bulgaria's Bulgargaz 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.
It also urged both sides to reach an agreement soon, but
added that it did not intend to become a mediator and that the
bloc had sufficient gas reserves for now.
The prospects of a swift settlement to the dispute appeared
remote. Moscow alleged Kiev was stealing gas intended for Europe
and playing political games. Ukraine accused Russia of using
"energy blackmail" and of not providing enough gas for the
proper functioning of the transit system.
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.
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.
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 said it was increasing
deliveries to Europe by 52 million cubic metres per day, about
16 percent, but said its ability to compensate for the fuel lost
on the Ukrainian route was limited.
The extra deliveries were being pumped around Ukraine --
through Belarus and Turkey -- and from underground storage
facilities in Europe.
Gazprom said Kiev was not ready to resume talks. "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
Medvedev 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 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 and sign a mutually
acceptable deal.
The gulf between the two sides is vast. Russia said it was
prepared to charge Ukraine $250 per 1,000 cubic metres this year
before talks collaped and now wants Kiev to pay $418. Dubyna
said that price could tip Ukraine into a humanitarian crisis.
Dubyna also said that even if Ukraine agreed to pay $250
instead of the current $179.5, it would ask Moscow to raise gas
transit fees it pays to Ukraine by 40 percent. Moscow says
transit fees cannot be revised before 2010.
Naftogaz also said Moscow could choose to return to the old
practice of paying for gas transit to Europe with gas instead of
cash, which Medvedev described as "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.
