Gas war escalates as Russia halves Slovakia supplies

Russia has cut gas deliveries to Slovakia by half in a bad sign for E.U. efforts to broker a deal on Ukraine.
Prime minister Robert Fico told press after a cabinet meeting in Bratislava on Wednesday (1 October) that the drop came without any warning.
He said his national distributor, SPP, can still "fulfill its commitments" on “reverse flow” to Ukraine and supply customers in Slovakia and the Czech Republic by buying extra volumes on the spot market.
But he criticised Russia, saying: "Gas has become a tool in a political fight … This isn't about a lack of gas, it’s about playing with gas supplies as an instrument of political posturing”.

This post was published at EU Observer