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Gazprom Warns Ukraine on Gas Payments

Gazprom warned on Tuesday that Ukraine may have supplies of gas reduced should it fail to make payments in full for deliveries after President Dmitry Medvedev cast doubt on the country's ability to pay.

Chief executive Alexei Miller discussed payments with Oleh Dubina, his counterpart from Naftogaz Ukrainy, in Moscow on Tuesday, Gazprom said in an e-mailed statement.

Naftogaz must meet a June 7 payment deadline for imports of gas from Russia under agreements hammered out in January, which helped resolve a dispute that halted deliveries to Europe for almost two weeks. Should Naftogaz fail to meet the deadline from last month's supplies, Gazprom "has every right" to demand 100 percent prepayment for gas, Miller said.

"Even if it comes to switching to advance payments, Naftogaz will decide itself how much gas to receive," Miller said after the meeting. "What they pay for is what they will get."

"It's still unclear whether Naftogaz Ukrainy can pay for deliveries of gas in May in full and on time," Miller said after meeting Dubina.

Valentyn Zemlyanskyi, a spokesman for Naftogaz, declined to comment on how much the company should pay for supplies in May before the deadline.

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