Medvedev Threatens Sanctions Against Ukraine

MOSCOW, Russia -- Russian President Dimitri Medvedev says Ukraine will face retaliatory sanctions unless it pays up every ruble it owes energy giant Gazprom.
Speaking in a televised end-of-the-year interview, Medvedev didn't specify what those sanctions might be.His statement came after Gazprom threatened to cut off gas deliveries to Ukraine on January 1, unless a new contract for 2009 is signed by then.Gazprom and Ukraine's state energy firm Naftogaz have failed to resolve a dispute over unpaid debts.Gazprom says Naftogaz owes it almost two billion euros.A bilateral dispute almost four years ago led to a brief disruption of gas supplies to several European Union countries.This time Gazprom has pledged to ensure that there is no disruption to the flow of gas to EU customers.