FILE - In this Sept. 9, 2009 file photo, workers weld pipes during a connection ceremony for a new pipeline between Minsk, Vilniaus, Kaunas and Kaliningrad at Lithuanian Northwest Sakiai, about 200km northwest of Vilnius, Lithuania. Russia's Gazprom saw its earnings halved in the first six months of the year due to lower natural gas prices and sinking demand in Europe, while overall debt jumped nearly a third, the company reported Monday, Nov. 9, 2009.
(AP photo/Liusjenas Kulbis, file)