Medvedev says EU should give Ukraine loan to ensure gas transit

Speaking at a news conference after a Russia-EU summit in the Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk, Dmitry Medvedev said Ukraine needs to pump some 19.5 billion cubic meters, worth over $4 billion, of gas into its underground storage facilities. "We are prepared to help Ukraine, but we would like a considerable part of the effort to be taken on by the European Union, those countries that want reliable energy cooperation," he said. "Let us help organize funds for Ukraine. But Russia should not be the only one tackling the problem," he said. "If the Ukrainian side has the money, wonderful, but we have doubts in relation to Ukraine's ability to make payments." Ukraine has asked Russia for a $5 billion loan, but the country's first deputy prime minister said on Thursday that there had been no official response from Moscow. Russian Deputy Finance Minister Dmitry Pankin said on Wednesday that no decision had been taken. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is expected to discuss the gas issue with his Ukrainian counterpart, Yulia Tymoshenko, on the sidelines of a CIS meeting in Kazakhstan on Friday, Kazinform cites RIA Novosti.