BRUSSELS, January 20 (RIA Novosti) - The...

"The main lesson is that Russia and Ukraine are not reliable suppliers," Karel Schwarzenberg said.

The Czech Republic currently holds the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union.

According to Schwarzenberg, the conflict underlined the need for the EU to diversify sources and routes of gas supplies to Europe.

The Czech foreign minister said the dispute had made the Nabucco pipeline project more relevant.

The $7-8 billion Nabucco pipeline, backed by the European Union and the U.S., is expected to link energy-rich Central Asia to Europe through Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria, bypassing Russia and Ukraine. Construction has been tentatively scheduled to begin in 2010.

Russia suspended supplies to Ukraine on January 1 after the former Soviet neighbors failed to reach an agreement on a new gas contract for 2009. A week later, Gazprom cut off gas deliveries to the European Union, saying Ukraine was stealing gas intended for

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