Moscow  - Russian energy company Gazprom on Saturday threatened to cut off gas deliveries to Ukraine starting January 1 unless Ukraine pays 2.4 billion dollars of debt and finalizes new contracts for future deliveries.

Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov, quoted by the Interfax News Agency, dismissed arguments from Kiev that payments had been delayed due to the ongoing financial crisis.

"If the Ukrainian economy were really in a crisis, they would need less energy from us. There has been no sign of that," he said, adding that Ukraine cannot expect to receive billion-dollar bail- outs from the International Monetary Fund on the one hand and refuse to pay its debts to Russia on the other.

Stockholm - The prime ministers of Sweden and Ukraine Friday discussed Ukraine's efforts to form closer ties with the European Union.

Sweden hoped to see an association agreement in place between the 27-nation bloc and Ukraine during Sweden's six-month presidency of the EU next year, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said.

Kiev  - Ukraine's government on Wednesday dissolved a state agency dedicated to preparing the country for the Euro 2012 football championships after criticism by UEFA that progress was far too slow.

Ukraine and Poland were named co-hosts for the high-profile tournament in April 2007. The formation of a National Agency for the Preparation of Ukraine for Euro 2012 was announced in January 2008.

"This is a result of criticism by UEFA," said Hryhory Surkis, head of the Federation of Football of Ukraine, according to an Interfax news agency report. "They (UEFA) had been complaining that the agency's work was not satisfactory."

Kiev - A Ukrainian construction firm will likely be named the general contractor for a massive overhaul of the stadium slated to hold the Euro 2012 final, a government official said Tuesday.

Three home-grown companies are in the frontrunning for the project estimated at 365 million dollars (290 million euros), Anatoly Berkut, Vice Minister for Regional Developement, told a news conference.

The firms he identified - Kievgorstroi, Ukrmonolitspetsbud and Stalkonstruksia - are among the former Soviet republic's top construction firms. However, none has experience building a football stadium to international standards.

Tallinn - NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer restated the military alliance's desire to see Ukraine join its ranks at a high-level conference being held in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, on Thursday.

In his opening speech, de Hoop Scheffer said the talks were taking place at a special moment in NATO-Ukraine relations.

Tallinn- NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer restated the military alliance's desire to see Ukraine join its ranks at a high-level conference being held in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, on Thursday.

In his opening speech, de Hoop Scheffer said the talks were taking place at a special moment in NATO-Ukraine relations.