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Russia, Ukraine dispute over pipeline

A dispute between Russia and Ukraine over natural gas is hurting supplies to other European countries. Russia is accusing Ukrainians of stealing gas, while the Ukraine blames faulty piping. Stephen Beard reports.

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Steve Chiotakis: The dispute between Russia and Ukraine over natural gas is starting to hit European Union supplies. E.U. officials are meeting today to talk about the impact of the deepening rift. From London, Stephen Beard reports.


Stephen Beard: Poland, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria all get Russian gas through a pipeline that passes through Ukraine. And they all say their supplies dropped by a third over the weekend.

Russia turned off the tap to Ukraine last week, after the Ukranians refused to pay a higher price for the gas. If the dispute continues, other European countries could be hit.

Nick McGregor is with brokers Redmayne Bentley:

Nick McGregor: Many other European countries and larger economies such as Germany and Italy are largely dependent for their gas imports on Russia.

Ukraine says the pipeline that crosses its territory has been malfunctioning since Russia turned off the tap. But the Russians accuse the Ukrainians of stealing gas meant for other customers.

In London, this is Stephen Beard for Marketplace.

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