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By Nataliya Vasilyeva The Associated Press MOSCOW » Vladimir Putin warned Europe on Thursday that it may face a shutdown of Russian natu- ral gas supplies if it fails to help Ukraine settle its enormous Rus- sian gas bill — a debt that far ex- ceeds a bailout package offered by the International Monetary Fund. The Russian president's letter to 18 mostly Eastern European leaders, released Thursday by the Kremlin, aimed to divide the 28-nation European Union and si - phon off to Russia the billions that the international community plans to lend to Ukraine. It was all part of Russia's efforts to retain control over its struggling neighbor, which is teetering on the verge of finan - cial ruin and facing a pro-Russian separatist mutiny in the east. Putin's message is clear: The EU has tried to lure Ukraine from Russia's orbit and into its fold, so it should now foot Ukraine's gas bill — or face the country's economic collapse and a disruption of its own gas supplies. The tough warning raises the ante ahead of international talks on settling the Ukrainian crisis that for the first time will bring to - gether the United States, the Euro- pean Union, Russia and Ukraine. The U.S. State Department on Thursday condemned what it called "Russia's efforts to use en - ergy as a tool of coercion against Ukraine." Hundreds of pro-Russian pro- testers — some armed — were still occupying Ukrainian government buildings in Donetsk and Luhansk while authorities sought a peace - ful solution Thursday to the five- day standoff. And in northwest Ro- mania, U.S. and Romanian forces kicked off a week of joint military exercises. The amount that Putin claims Ukraine owes is growing by bil - lions every week — and his letter raises the specter of a new gas dis- pute between Russia and Ukraine that could affect much of Europe. In 2009, Moscow turned off gas supplies to Kiev in the dead of win - ter, leading to freezing cities across Eastern Europe as Russian gas stopped moving through Ukrainian pipelines to other nations. In the letter, Putin said Ukraine owes Russia $17 billion due to the termination of gas discounts and potentially another $18.4 billion as a take-or-pay fine under their 2009 gas contract. He added that on top of that $35.4 billion, Russia also holds $3 billion in Ukrainian government bonds. The total amount is far greater than the estimated $14 billion to $18 billion bailout that the Inter - national Monetary Fund is consid- ering for Ukraine. Putin warned that Ukraine's mounting debt is forcing Moscow to demand advance payments for further gas supplies. He said that if Ukraine failed to make such pay - ments, Russia's state-controlled gas giant Gazprom will "com- pletely or partially cease gas de- liveries." Putin told the leaders that a shutdown of Russian gas supplies will increase the risk of Ukraine siphoning off gas intended for the rest of Europe and will make it dif - ficult to accumulate sufficient re- serves to guarantee uninterrupted delivery to European customers next winter. He urged quick talks between Russia and European consumers of Russian gas. "The fact that our European partners have unilaterally with - drawn from the concerted efforts to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, and even from holding consulta- tions with the Russian side, leaves Russia no alternative," Putin said. The letter was addressed to 18 heads of states in Europe, includ - ing Serbia and Bulgaria, which both rely on Russia for about 90 percent of their gas supplies. Putin has been tightening the economic screws on the cash- strapped Kiev government since it came to power in February af - ter Ukraine's Russia-leaning pres- ident fled the country after months of protest. Starting this month, Rus- sia state energy giant Gazprom scrapped all discounts on gas to Ukraine, meaning a 70 percent price hike that will add to the debt figure. Ukraine has also promised the IMF it will cut energy subsi - dies to residents in exchange for a bailout — which means gas prices were set to rise 50 percent on May 1 even before Putin's latest salvo. eaSterN eurOpe Putin: Ukraine debt threatens gas supplies EfrEm Lukatsky — thE associatEd PrEss Pro-russian activists build a barricade in front of the regional administration building that they had seized earlier in donetsk, ukraine, on thursday. News feed WaSHINGtON » A retiring con- gressman has lost his quixotic bid to give members of Con- gress $25 a day to help with their living expenses in Wash- ington. Democrat Jim Moran of Vir- ginia offered the plan as a re- placement for the $2,800 cost- of-living increase that would be denied lawmakers under leg- islation heading to the House floor later this spring. The House Appropria- tions Committee rejected Moran's measure by a voice vote as it debated the con- gressional budget. It got a few audible "aye" votes from the Democratic side of the committee. Members of Congress earn $174,000 a year and are supposed to receive annual cost-of-living pay raises. Moran — a 12-term law - maker who's retiring at year's end — says Congress is at risk of becoming a bas- tion for the wealthy and that high rents in Washington, D.C., are a burden for law- makers of lesser means, es- pecially younger members with children. — The Associated Press WaSHINGtON Rep. Moran loses bid to boost lawmakers' pay WaSHINGtON » The U.S. government's budget deficit shrank to just $37 billion in March from $107 billion in the same month last year, the lat - est sign of improvement in the nation's finances. The deficit was the lowest for the month of March in 14 years. The deficit fell partly be - cause revenue jumped 16 per- cent to $216 billion, the Trea- sury Department said in its monthly budget report Thurs- day. Individual income and So- cial Security tax receipts have increased as employers have steadily hired more workers in the past year. Changes in the timing of about $40 billion in benefit payments and tax receipts were also a big reason for the smaller deficit. Excluding the impact of those timing shifts, the def - icit would have been $77 billion last month. Spend- ing still dipped 2 percent in March, even excluding the timing shift. Defense spending fell 16 percent to $45 billion last month, and spending on un - employment benefits also fell. — The Associated Press BudGet U.S. deficit falls in March to $37 billion WaSHINGtON » Eleven Sen- ate Democrats, including six who face contested races this year, urged President Barack Obama on Thursday to ap - prove the Keystone XL oil pipeline by the end of May. The five-year review of the Canada-to-Texas pipeline has been "exhaustive in its time, breadth and scope" and has taken longer than rea - sonably justified, the sena- tors wrote to the president. Approval of the pipeline is needed to ensure pipeline operator TransCanada does not miss another construc - tion season, the senators' let- ter said. But politics likely is a larger factor. Six of the Dem- ocrats who signed the let- ter face challenges this year: Mary Landrieu of Louisi- ana, Mark Begich of Alaska, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, John Walsh of Montana, Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Mark Warner of Virginia. Democratic efforts to keep control of the Senate could hinge on those races. All but North Carolina are signifi - cant energy-producing states. — The Associated Press WaSHINGtON 11 Senate Democrats: Approve Keystone XL WaSHINGtON » Congress said no way to Iran's choice for am- bassador to the United Na- tions, outraged by the pros- pect of a member of a group responsible for the 1979 take- over of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran stepping on U.S. soil. The move forces President Barack Obama to make a de - cision with serious diplomatic repercussions. In a unanimous vote on Thursday, the House backed a bill that would bar entry to the U.S. to an individual found to be engaged in espionage, ter - rorism or a threat to national security. The vote came four days after similar action in the Senate and sends the bill to the White House. The Obama administra - tion opposes the selection of Hamid Aboutalebi because of his alleged participation in a Muslim student group that held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days in the 1979 takeover. American officials have told Iran that Aboutalebi is unac - ceptable, and the State Depart- ment indicated the issue could be resolved if Tehran simply withdrew the nomination. — The Associated Press WOrld Application for Iranian ambassador rejected BueNOS aIreS, arGeNtINa » A nationwide strike para- lyzed Argentina's economy on Thursday, shutting down air, train and bus traffic, clos- ing businesses and ports and emptying classrooms. The strike also stopped all non- emergency hospital atten - tion, left garbage in emp- tied streets and complicated many other aspects of life in the South American nation. Labor leaders want higher pay, lower taxes and millions of dollars they say are owed to union-run health care pro - viders. The government dis- putes this debt to the funds, which the unions lost to- tal control of after being ac- cused of misusing the money. All Argentines are strug- gling with 30 percent in- flation, but any money for pay raises has to come from somewhere. Many worry that Pres - ident Cristina Fernandez, who rules with decree power over many aspects of Argen- tina's economy, is squeezing the middle class by raising taxes and fees and cutting subsidies. — The Associated Press SOutH aMerICa Argentina hit by large strike over inflation By eileen Sullivan The Associated Press WaSHINGtON » A yearlong re- view of information the U.S. intelligence community had prior to the Boston Marathon bombing found that the inves - tigation could have been more thorough, but the intelligence agencies' inspectors general said it is impossible to know whether anything could have been done differently to pre - vent the attack. The report also said that Russia withheld some infor- mation about the bombing sus- pects until after the attack, but an unclassified version of the report didn't address what dif- ference that might have made. The Obama administration briefed Congress Thursday on the intelligence community in - spectors general's findings. The inspectors general exam- ined how the government's 17 intelligence agencies handled information it had prior to the April 15 attack that killed three people and injured more than 200 others. It explored whether there were any missed opportu - nities to share information that could have prevented two eth- nic Chechen brothers from car- rying out the bombings. Highlighting Russia's role in potential intelligence failures comes at a time when relations between the two countries are the worst they've been since the Cold War era, the deterioration coming over the past year. In 2011, Russian authorities told the FBI they were wor - ried that one of the suspected bombers and his mother were religious extremists. The Rus- sians were unresponsive when pressed by the FBI for more de- tails. It was only after the 2013 attack that the U.S. intelligence community learned that the Russians withheld some details that might have led to a more thorough FBI investigation. The Russians told U.S. offi - cials that they secretly recorded a telephone conversation in 2011 in which one of the Boston bomb- ing suspects vaguely discussed jihad with his mother, which the AP first reported weeks after the attack last year. In another conversation, the mother of now-dead bombing suspect Ta - merlan Tsarnaev was recorded talking to someone in southern Russia who is under FBI inves- tigation in an unrelated case, of- ficials have said. BOStON MaratHON Report: Russia withheld intel before bombing Servicing your disposal needs in Tehama County, and the City of Red Bluff including Residential, Commercial, and Temporary bin services. GREEN WASTE OF TEHAMA A WASTE CONNECTIONS COMPANY 530-528-8500 1805 AIRPORT BLVD. RED BLUFF, CA GreenWaste is a proud supporter of local events. Smog Check (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. starting at $ 29 95 + $ 8 25 certificate SERVICES AT LOWER PRICES All makes and models. 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