Austria, holder of the European Union presidency, will not pressure Ukraine over its gas dispute with Russia despite receiving a letter from Moscow asking the EU for help, an Austrian spokesman said on Tuesday according to Reuters. "The presidency's not going to take any unilateral steps," the spokesman for the Austrian EU presidency said. The EU presidency, he said, did not to wish to mediate in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. "The presidency is urging the two parties to find a solution," he said. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov had sent a letter to Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel over the issue, the spokesman told Reuters. Interfax said the letter stated that Ukraine had siphoned off gas intended for the EU, and that constituted grounds for the EU to take action against Ukraine. "In line with Article 27 of the Energy Charter Treaty, such actions give grounds for European contracting parties to initiate a dispute with Ukraine concerning uninterrupted and unreduced transit of Russian gas," Interfax quoted Fradkov's letter as saying. "We are asking you to influence the Ukrainian side so that it should return to the legal framework ... and take all essential measures to prevent the unlawful tapping of natural gas intended for transit and for storage in Ukraine's underground gas storage facilities." Russia's gas deliveries to European customers returned to normal on Tuesday as Moscow traded insults with Kiev over which was to blame for supply disruptions across the continent.
