In order to resolve the gas supply dispute between Russia and Ukraine, the EU will need to pay for Ukraine's outstanding gas invoices, an Austrian minister said Tuesday.
Talking to the Oe1 Morgenjournal radio program, Minister for Economy, Family, and Youth Reinhold Mitterlehner said he was convinced the 4.5 billion U.S. dollars of debt Ukraine owes to Russian state-owned Gazprom would ultimately need to come from the EU as Ukraine is not economically strong enough to pay itself.
Additionally a political solution should be reached in three to four months, because if Ukraine no longer has available gas reserves of its own it could start to use those meant for export to the EU, posing similar issues to the 2009 Russia-Ukraine gas dispute.