The government of Ukraine will meet Wednesday to consider options in the face further reductions in natural gas deliveries from Russia. Russia's state-run energy giant, Gazprom, is assuring customers in Europe that their supplies will not be affected.

烏克蘭政府將在星期三召開會議，考慮如何應對俄羅斯進一步減少對烏克蘭的天然氣供應量的問題。俄羅斯國營能源業巨頭俄羅斯天然氣工業公司向其歐洲客戶保證，歐洲的天然氣供應不會受到影響。

Speaking at a morning news conference in the Russian capital, Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said the company would reduce Ukraine's gas supplies by another 25 percent Tuesday evening. It follows a similar cut on Monday.

俄羅斯天然氣工業公司的發言人庫普里揚諾夫星期二上午在莫斯科的一個新聞發布會上說，該公司將在星期二傍晚時把對烏克蘭的天然氣供應量再減少25%。此前，俄羅斯天然氣工業公司已經在星期一進行了類似的削減。

Kupriyanov says the Gazprom decision is based on lack of progress in Russian-Ukrainian talks and the absence of signed contracts with Ukraine's Naftogaz energy company.

他說，俄羅斯天然氣工業公司做出這樣的決定是因為俄羅斯和烏克蘭之間的談判缺乏進展，而且俄羅斯方面也沒能和烏克蘭國家石油天然氣公司簽署有關協議。

Kupriyanov said gas supplies which transit through Ukraine to Europe will remain at full capacity, nearly 357 million cubic meters, per day.

庫普里揚諾夫說，在烏克蘭中轉最終抵達歐洲各國的天然氣將保持全量供應，即將近每天3億5千7百萬立方米。

On Monday, Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Turchynov accused Russia of failing to pay his country as much as $700 million in pipeline transit fees for gas deliveries to Europe.

烏克蘭第一副總理圖爾奇諾夫星期一指責說，俄羅斯沒有為輸送到歐洲的天然氣向烏克蘭交納高達7億美元的管道中轉費。

The energy advisor for Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, parliamentarian Oleksiy Hudyma, says his country is fully prepared to pay for the gas it consumes. But he says there is no one to pay, because Gazprom is refusing to sign a contract that would eliminate intermediaries.

烏克蘭總理季莫申科的能源顧問、議員古德馬說，烏克蘭已經作好充分準備為其使用的天然氣付費。但是，他說，烏克蘭還不會付這筆錢，因為俄羅斯天然氣工業公司拒絕簽署一項關于去除幾家中間商的協議。

In remarks to VOA, Hudyma noted the presidents of Ukraine and Russia agreed last month to direct deliveries of gas.

古德馬對美國之音表示，烏克蘭和俄羅斯的總統在上個月同意不經過中間公司直接輸送天然氣。

The energy advisor says there are two intermediaries, which the government and people of Ukraine do not want - RosUkrEnergo and UkrGazEnergo. He says these companies have taken billions of dollars out of the Ukrainian economy in recent years. Hudyma accuses Russia of being less prepared for talks than Ukraine.

他說，烏克蘭政府和人民希望去除的兩家中間公司是俄烏能源公司和烏克蘭天然氣能源公司。古德馬說，這兩家公司最近幾年從烏克蘭賺走了數十億美元。他指責俄羅斯在會談上做的準備不如烏克蘭充分。

Gazprom owns 50 percent of RosUkrEnergo, a company registered in Switzerland. The other half is owned by two Ukrainian businessmen. UkrGazEnergo is joint venture between Ukraine's biggest gas supplier, Naftogaz of Ukraine, and RosUkrEnergo.

俄烏能源公司是一家在瑞士注冊的公司，該公司50%的股份掌握在俄羅斯天然氣工業公司手中，剩下的50%股份掌握在兩個烏克蘭商人手中。烏克蘭天然氣能源公司是烏克蘭最大的天然氣供應商烏克蘭國家石油天然氣公司和俄烏能源合資創辦的。

The Tymoshenko government says the arrangements are costly, not transparent, and corrupt.

季莫申科政府說，這種商業安排造成了很大的開支，缺乏透明度而且腐敗。

Meanwhile, the gas issue has become a political football in Ukraine. The opposition Regions Party issued a statement on its website accusing the Tymoshenko government of excessive ambition, which Ukrainians will pay for through closed factories, unemployment, and cold homes.

與此同時，天然氣問題在烏克蘭已經成了一個政治游戲。烏克蘭反對派地區黨在其網站上發表了一份聲明，指責季莫申科政府野心過大，烏克蘭人民將為此付出代價，包括工廠關門、失業和沒有供暖的房屋。

Oleksiy Hudyma says the previous government of Viktor Yanukovcyh, the head of the Regions Party, did not leave Ukraine with substantial energy reserves. But Hudyma notes that temperatures are unseasonably warm, and Ukrainians have the discipline to see through this latest energy crisis.

古德馬議員說，地區黨領袖亞努科維奇領導的上屆政府沒有給烏克蘭留下足夠的能源儲備。但是，古德馬指出，今年的天氣反常的暖和，而且烏克蘭人民能夠通過自律來堅持度過這場最新的能源危機。

In 2006, European gas deliveries suffered after Russia cut Ukraine's supplies during a debt dispute.

2006年，俄羅斯在和烏克蘭的一場債務糾紛中切斷了對烏克蘭的天然氣供應，影響到了向歐洲輸送的天然氣。