LUTSK, Oct. 13 – Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has said that Russian politicians are deliberately escalating tension with statements about the possible application of fines by Russian gas company Gazprom against Naftogaz Ukrayiny for consuming less gas than envisaged in the contract.

"I regret to say that political escalation continues building up around the gas issue, and this [escalation] has absolutely no grounds," Tymoshenko said at a press conference in Lutsk on Tuesday.