俄国威胁断气，欧洲股市应声下跌1.3%（英文）

Traders at work at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (file photo)

Traders at work at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (file photo)

European stocks decline after Moscow threatens Kiev to cut off its gas supply to Europe, amid tensions over the fate of Ukraine’s Crimea region.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index plunged 1.3 percent to 333.06 on Friday. That is a fall of 1.5 percent this week.

European equities fell 2.3 percent on March 3 after Russia’s parliament approved President Vladimir Putin’s request to send troops to Ukraine.

Ukraine is a key transit route for Russian gas to Europe. Russia says Ukraine’s natural gas debt has climbed to almost two billion dollars, signaling supplies may be cut, which would ratchet up pressure on its neighbors as they scrap over the future of Ukraine’s Crimea region.

Also on Friday, Russia warned the United States against “hasty and reckless steps” over the crisis in Ukraine that could harm Moscow-Washington relations.

The US has repeatedly threatened Russia with sanctions over its actions in Ukraine specially its military build-up in the Ukrainian territory of Crimea.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow would have to respond in such situations that are provoked by “Washington’s rash and irresponsible actions.” 

Political crisis erupted in Ukraine in November 2013, after the country’s ousted president, Viktor Yanukovych, refrained from signing an Association Agreement with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia.