Putin calls on EU to lend Ukraine money for gas

By Dmitry Solovyov and Darya Korsunskaya

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called on the European Union on Monday to lend money to Ukraine to help Kiev pay for Russian gas supplies and avoid disruptions to gas flows to European customers this winter.

"If there are problems, we are asking our European colleagues to get involved and lend Ukraine the necessary money. Give them a least a billion. Why be greedy? They (the EU) have the money, so why don't they fork it out?" Putin said after talks with Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen.

Putin did not specify the currency of the loan.

EU leaders were shocked when a three-week January dispute over gas prices between Kiev and Moscow led to supply cuts for hundreds of thousands of Europeans last winter.

The EU receives about 20 percent of its gas from Russia via Ukraine and several eastern and southern European countries are almost entirely dependent on that gas.

Ukraine has been regularly paying off its gas bills since January, but Moscow last week said it feared Kiev may fall behind as economic crisis empties state coffers.

The Russian warning coincided with the start of a presidential election campaign in Ukraine. Analysts said Moscow wanted to pressure Ukraine to choose a relatively pro-Russian leader while avoiding a gas row with Kiev ahead of the vote.

Last week, Putin said the EU had not done enough to help Ukraine, a charge the EU's executive Commission denied.