EU to Putin: Give Us Our Gas

The Europeans have warned Russia’s Vladimir Putin that he risks sparking an ugly diplomatic incident unless he restores their full energy supplies. The Russians have turned off the gas, which flows through a pipeline across the Ukraine, after failing to reach an agreement with the pro-Western government of Ukraine to pay for its gas supplies. Representatives from Europe, Russia, and the Ukraine meet to hammer out the matter today. "If the transit does not return to normal we will have a real problem and we have to make some conclusions that we no longer consider gas supply from Russia through Ukraine a credible option," José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission President, declared. The European Union has given Moscow until Friday to settle its differences with the Ukraine. In Bulgaria, 15,000 homes were without heat, and dozens of schools and kindergartens were shut. Slovakia and Romania have declared states of emergency.