KIEV, Oct. 9 ??“ RosUkrEnergo, a gas trader controlled by Gazprom, has been seeking clarification from its Ukrainian counterpart after a Polish company complained about a sudden disruption in gas supplies, a news agency reported Monday.

RosUkrEnergo planned to supply 2.6 billion cubic meters of gas to Poland in 2006, more than 10% of that country??™s demand, but the supplies were suspended on Oct. 2 without any reason, PGNiG, the Polish energy company, reported.

???Jointly with Ukrainian colleagues we are currently trying to clarify and to analyze the situation,??? a RosUkrEnergo spokesman told Interfax in Moscow. ???This will take some time.???

Any gas supply disruption is a sensitive issue in the region, which suffered major problems on Jan. 1, when Russia unilaterally suspended gas supplies to Ukraine due to a price dispute.

The January suspension of gas supplies sent shock waves throughout Europe, with the U.S. and other Western nations accusing Russia of using energy as a tool of pressure and blackmail against its neighbors.

Russia supplies about 120 billion cu m of gas, or about 80% of its European gas exports, via Ukrainian pipelines.

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