Gas Crises Between Russia And Ex-Soviet Neighbours

The following is a chronology of the most serious recent gas rows between Russia and its ex-Soviet neighbours:

The prime ministers of Russia and Ukraine have reached an outline deal in their gas dispute which should allow supplies to be resumed to Europe soon, a Russian government spokesman said on Sunday.

The following is a chronology of the most serious recent gas rows between Russia and its ex-Soviet neighbours:

WINTER 2005-2006.

Russia and Ukraine had a serious clash on prices for the first time following the 2004 pro-Western "Orange Revolution" which swept President Viktor Yushchenko to power. Yushchenko has tried to withdraw Ukraine from Russia's sphere of influence.

A dispute over gas prices -- Ukraine then paid just $50 per 1,000 cubic metres, Gazprom wanted to charge $230 -- was complicated by accusations of corruption in the energy sector from Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

Gazprom cut off supplies on Jan. 1 2006, but turned them on again a day later. European consumers complained their supplies had been hit. Gazprom accused Ukraine of stealing gas from export pipelines and Kiev denied any such move.

Ukraine agreed to a price of $95 per tcm and the introduction of intermediary RosUkrEnergo, which soon became a source of conflict over future gas agreements.

WINTER 2006-2007

Belarus fought hard to keep Russian gas prices down. Minsk and Moscow came to an agreement just half an hour before a midnight deadline to cut off supplies. Belarus agreed to a doubled price of $100 per tcm.

The dispute escalated in the first days of 2007 and briefly affected Russian oil supplies to Poland and Germany along the Druzhba pipeline following a clash over oil duties and supplies between Moscow and Minsk.

FEBRUARY 2007

Ukraine's parliament passed a law banning the privatisation, sale or lease of the country's gas pipelines, after Russia suggested creating a joint venture to run the system.

FEBRUARY 2008

Gazprom said Ukraine had accumulated over $1.5 billion in debts for supplies in 2007, when it was paying $130 per tcm, and after weeks of talks and contradictory statements from both sides, it halved supplies briefly at the beginning of March.

Supplies were resumed after Naftogaz agreed to pay back the debt but analysts predicted tough talks over next year's supply deal and the question of intermediary RosUkrEnergo, which Tymoshenko wants abolished as the intermediary supplier.

In October, Tymoshenko and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin signed a memorandum that stipulated Ukraine would pay a market price within three years after gradual rises and that supply intermediaries like RosUkrEnergo would be scrapped.

WINTER 2008-2009

Gazprom cut off all supplies to Ukraine on Jan. 1 after weeks of negotiations on outstanding debts and prices for 2009.

Gazprom proposed to raise the price to $250 from $179.5, while Ukraine said it was prepared to pay $201 and wants to raise gas transit fees.

Putin's spokesman said on Sunday that Putin had agreed with Tymoshenko that Ukraine would start paying European prices for its gas, less a 20 percent discount this year.

In return for the discount, Ukraine had agreed to keep its transit fee for Russian gas unchanged this year.