Gazprom Deputy Chairman Alexander Medvedev briefed the media in Prague today on the latest developments on the gas dispute:

• Negotiations over the gas contract are unable to resume because there has been no relevant response from the Ukrainian side.  Gazprom is ready to fulfil its commitments to the EU and will use all measures to make Ukraine comply with its obligations as a transit country. 

• Ukraine has been siphoning off natural gas from some of Russia's shipments to other countries and also from underground storage, leading to supply reductions in several European countries including Romania, Hungary and Poland.

• Gazprom is using alternative routes, including Belarus, but does not have enough capacity there to bring supplies to normal levels.