The Visegrad region is a key transit center for Russian Natural Gas exports to Western Europe. The Yamal-Europe Pipeline, which is routed through Belarus and Poland to Germany, is Russias only natural gas export pipeline to Europe that does not cross Ukrainian territory. The importance of gas pipelines was highlighted on January 1, 2006, when Gazprom briefly reduced gas supplies to Ukraine as part of a pricing dispute. Gas resumed its flow as soon as a new price was agreed, but the downstream supply disruption in Western Europe underscored the need for pipeline supply alternatives. The Yamal-Europe pipeline has a capacity of 1.1 trillion cubic feet per year (Tcf/y). Most of this natural gas is destined for German markets. A second natural gas pipeline, the Yamal II, had been planned, but the pipeline has not been formally approved. If built, the combined annual capacity of the two pipelines would be 2.3 Tcf/y. The Brotherhood and Soyuz natural gas pipelines that pass through Ukraine to Slovakia have capacities of about 1 Tcf/y each. The natural gas that transits Slovakia represents about 25 percent of the natural gas consumed in Western Europe and about 70 percent of the Russian natural gas exported to Western Europe. In 2003, Slovensky plynArensky priemysel (SPP), the Operator of Slovakias natural gas grid, reported that 2.36 Tcf transited the country onto Western Europe.