Ukraine's allies urged to help pay its debt

Ukraine's allies urged to help pay its debt

BRATISLAVA -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on Ukraine's allies to help the country pay its natural gas debt to Russia.

"Everyone must contribute, including Slovakia," Merkel said after meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in Bratislava. She noted that the solution was still being sought, "and winter is already coming," reported the French AFP agency.

Russia's TASS news agency is at the same time reporting that the German chancellor said funds need to be found to provide loans and guarantee gas supplies to Ukraine.

During her one-day working visit to Slovakia, Merkel said there were efforts to provide loans in order to overcome the situation, and that the EU wished to, "while it's still possible, find concrete solutions" - but that "further negotiations were needed."

Fico, whose country heavily relies on Russian gas and has been sending some to Ukraine on EU's orders, said that the Slovak part of the responsibilities was to provide reverse supplies to Ukraine - but that "nothing will work if Ukraine is waiting for everyone, except itself, to solve its problems."

A trilateral meeting on the gas issue between Russia, Ukraine and the EU will be held on Wednesday in Brussels.

Participants in the negotiations should determine conditions of an interim agreement for Russian natural gas supplies to Ukraine, the PRIME agency said.

A lack of agreement would put into question the stability of Russian gas supplies to EU countries, transported in transit through Ukraine, due to the high probability that the country would "take" gas during the winter season in order to meet its own needs, according to the Russian news...