MOSCOW, Nov. 11 - Russia will reduce the supply of transit gas via Ukraine if the latter starts taking energy resources illegally, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said.

"If our partners pay us for the supplies meant for internal consumption, they will get it for internal consumption. If they do not pay for the supplies for internal consumption, that means they will not get it. If they do not get it, it's likely that they will siphon from the export pipeline. Once they start siphoning, we will reduce the supply," Putin told a press conference after talks with Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann.

The question of guaranteed winter gas supplies "should be referred" not to Russia, the prime minister said.