Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) -- OAO Gazprom, Russia’s gas-export monopoly, threatened to cut all gas deliveries through Ukraine if it holds up fuel meant for customers in central and western Europe.

“If Ukraine fully stops delivery of gas to the west, for consumers in central and western Europe, we do not see sense in supplying gas to the border with Ukraine,” Chief Executive Officer Alexei Miller said at Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s Novo-Ogarevo residence near the Russian capital late yesterday.

Ukraine interrupted gas supplies through three transit pipelines supplying central and western Europe early yesterday, according to Gazprom. France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Poland, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Bosnia, Slovenia and Serbia all said supplies of Russian gas via Ukraine were down.

Gazprom’s European customers receive 80 percent of supplies through pipelines that cross Ukraine. Russia cut shipments to its neighbor on Jan. 1 in a dispute over back debt, prices and transit tariffs. The spat caused U.K. gas to jump as much as 27 percent and came amid freezing temperatures across Europe.

Gazprom Deputy Chief Executive Officer Alexander Medvedev said in a Bloomberg Television interview yesterday that the “situation is deteriorating” and only 40 million cubic meters of gas is reaching European customers as a result of the “unilateral action of the Ukrainians.” That compares with about 300 million cubic meters on Jan. 4.

Balkan Situation

Miller told Putin that the situation with supplies is the worst for the Balkans. He said Ukraine is “stealing about 15 percent of gas supplied to the border” between the two countries.

“We see today that the deliveries for our consumers in central and western Europe are being carried out, and as for the Balkans, they have been fully stopped,” he said.

In 2006, Russia turned off all Ukrainian gas exports for three days, causing volumes to fall in the European Union, and also cut shipments by 50 percent last March during related debt claims.

NAK Naftogaz Ukrainy Chief Executive Officer Oleh Dubina said he would return to Moscow tomorrow to resume talks. Miller said that he was surprised Ukraine plans to resume talks in two days, while Gazprom is ready to start talks “at any minute.”

Russia itself is planning to hold talk with European partners in Brussels tomorrow, Miller said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lyubov Pronina in Moscow at lpronina@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 6, 2009 16:30 EST