AFP: EU warns Russia not to use gas as weapon in Ukraine crisis

The chief European Union energy official warned Russia on Tuesday not to use gas supplies as a weapon in its standoff with Ukraine over the fate of its neighbour's separatist east.

EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said he hoped to reach an "interim solution" with Russia over its gas supply cut to Ukraine when the three sides meet for crunch talks in Berlin on Friday.

Russia halted all gas sales to the ex-Soviet nation in June after Ukraine balked at paying a higher price imposed by Moscow in the wake of the February ouster in Kiev of a pro-Kremlin president.

Ukraine still transports volumes intended for Russia's other European clients. But EU nations fear that Kiev may be forced to tap into those flows once the winter heating season begins.
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