Ukraine would be forced to use Russian natural gas if temperatures fell below minus 10 degrees Celsius, a board member of Ukraine's state oil and gas company Naftogaz Ukrainy said on Tuesday.

At the moment Ukraine is able to meet its domestic demand for natural gas using only domestic output and supplies from Turkmenistan, as the weather is rather mild, said Mykola Goncharuk, the board member of Naftogaz.

But, if the temperatures, which are now unusually mild for January fall significantly, then Kiev would have to draw on Russian gas from the pipeline which passes through Ukraine, said Goncharuk.

"We have a right to receive 126 million cubic meters of Central Asian (Turkmenistanian) gas a day. At the moment we are taking 100-110 million cubic meters. But everything will depend on the weather," he said.

"If temperatures fall to minus 10, then we will need to add 40 million cubic meters to meet our consumers' needs. In that case, Ukraine will have to take the Russian gas which is being legally earned for transit services".

Russia's state gas giant Gazprom has accused Ukraine of stealing gas being piped westwards across its territory to Europe, an accusation which has been denied by Ukrainian officials.

A Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said at a press conference that it has invited international experts to supervise the transit of Russian gas through Ukrainian pipelines to ensure its transparency.

He also added that Ukraine is now holding talks with the European Union in a bid to reach a resolution over the Russian-Ukrainian gas row.

Russia suspended its natural gas supplies to Ukraine on Monday after Kiev rejected a four-fold increase in prices.

Source: Xinhua