By Dmitry Zhdannikov and Ron Popeski
MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) - Russia and Ukraine wrangled over gas supplies again on Wednesday and two European Union states, cut off by the row for a freezing week, launched missions to plead for Russian gas flow to be restored.
European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso called the crisis "unacceptable and incredible" and warned the EU executive would advise the bloc's firms to sue Russian and Ukrainian energy companies unless gas supplies were restored quickly.
Russia began pumping gas meant for Europe via Ukraine on Tuesday, but the EU said little or none was flowing yet to countries downstream suffering urgent energy shortages.
Russia accused Ukraine of deliberately cutting gas to Europe, but Kiev said Russia had so far provided so little gas there was not enough pressure in the pipelines to pump it on.
Each side tried to persuade their customers to the West that the other was to blame for the crisis.
"We are hearing from our Ukrainian friends they have problems with transit," Russian Prime Minister Putin told the prime ministers of Slovakia, Bulgaria and Moldova, all badly hit by the cut in gas supplies, at his residence outside Moscow.
"But it is not our problem. It is the problem of the transit country and they must solve it," he added.
"In my view, European officials could do more to put pressure on the transit country to ensure European interests," Putin said earlier.
THIRD COUNTRIES HELD "HOSTAGE"
Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev told Putin:
"The biggest risk for both Russia and Ukraine is the issue of trust. The dispute has been running for a few years but it should not turn third countries into hostages."
Kiev portrayed Moscow as the villain. "It is time for the European Commission to ask Russia clearly why it is committing such acts," Ukrainian Fuel and Energy Minister Yuri Prodan said.
"Either Russia wants to supply gas to Europe or it intends to keep repeating such acts. All legal responsibility lies with the Russian side -- particularly as regards European consumers."
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko told a news conference talks with Russia should be conducted at government level rather than between the two countries' gas companies.
The crisis has hit 18 countries in the depths of winter, shutting down factories and leaving householders shivering.
"If the agreement sponsored by the EU is not honoured, the Commission will advise EU companies to take this matter to the courts," Barroso told the European Parliament.
"The current situation is in short most unacceptable and incredible," he said. "If the agreement is not honoured, it means Russia and Ukraine can no longer be regarded as reliable."
ELEVEN DAYS LEFT
Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico said his country had 11 days of gas reserves left.
"After 12 days, we will be obliged to resort to measures never seen in our history. May I simply ask how long this will go on?" he asked Ukraine's Tymoshenko while visiting Kiev.
Slovakia, which gets almost all its gas from Russia, declared a state of emergency on January 6, under which gas deliveries to large clients were reduced. About 1,000 companies were forced to shut or cut production.
The Slovakian government said Fico had stressed Ukraine's responsibility for the crisis and said it had "negatively affected Ukraine's credibility." Tymoshenko replied that Ukraine was "the same hostage in the dispute as the European Union."
A deal brokered by the EU, which gets a quarter of its gas from Russia, had been intended to get supplies moving on Tuesday, with international monitors in place to ensure that Ukraine was not siphoning off any gas, as Moscow has alleged.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday the state-controlled gas monopoly Gazprom had lost $1.1 billion from the fall in exports to Europe caused by the dispute.
"Our country cannot lose such money. The time for presents is over," Medvedev said on state television.
Gazprom is demanding Kiev hand over $614 million (422 million pounds) for unpaid gas bills and pay $450 per 1,000 cubic metres of gas in 2009. That is similar to rates paid by EU customers but a big rise on last year's price of $179.5.
Analysts in Kiev say Ukraine, saddled with debt and hard hit by the global slowdown, cannot afford that price.
The Ukrainian state energy company Naftogaz on Wednesday declined a request by Gazprom to supply almost 100 million cubic metres to the Balkans and Moldova, proposing alternative routes.
Ukraine said it asked the European Commission to help it get from Russia the "technical gas" needed to pump supplies.
Mirek Topolanek, Czech prime minister and current EU president, said "technical gas" was often used as a pretext for not making deliveries. "This must be stopped," he added.
The gas row reflects poor political relations between Russia and Ukraine. Moscow is vehemently opposed to moves by Ukraine's pro-Western leadership to join the U.S.-led NATO alliance.
