Putin: EU Needs Pipelines Bypassing Ukraine 'Radicals'

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday called on the European Union to back efforts for new gas pipelines bypassing Ukraine, warning against "radicals" in Kiev blocking supplies.

Speaking at an economic forum in his hometown Saint Petersburg, Putin said Moscow has been a reliable gas supplier to Europe but could not count on transit countries like Ukraine.

"We are seriously concerned about the statements of Ukrainian radicals, their direct threats to prevent the transit of our gas to Europe," Putin told the gathering of hundreds of business leaders.

"We hope that common sense will prevail and this won't happen," he said.

He said Brussels needs to back projects like Gazprom's South Stream pipeline that will bypass Ukraine by passing under the Black Sea to Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary before branching out to western Europe.

"Russia has always entirely fulfilled its contractual obligations," Putin said.

"The situation in Ukraine once again confirms the relevance of our initiatives for direct energy export routes to Europe, including the South Stream pipeline which we are building," Putin said.

Russian energy giant Gazprom has warned Kiev it will suspend its gas deliveries on June 3 if Ukraine does not by then settle its bill for June, worth $1.66 billion.

Moscow has started demanding pre-payments for gas shipments to Ukraine under new rules introduced in response to Ukraine's political crisis.

This threat has raised deep concerns in the European Union, which imports a quarter of its gas from Russia, nearly half of which flows via Ukraine.

Europe saw disruptions in supplies in 2006 and 2009 when Ukraine dipped into deliveries during previous price disputes with Moscow.

The EU has been sceptical of South Stream and for years backed the rival Nabucco pipeline project bringing gas from Central Asia through Turkey, but it fell apart in 2013.