UPDATE 2-Steal our gas, Europe will suffer: Putin warns Kiev

* Putin: Russia will cut EU supply if Ukraine siphons gas

* Blames pre-election battle in Ukraine

* Ukraine PM says capable of meeting obligations

* Putin promotes alternative gas pipelines

* Seeks Austrian support on South Stream

(Adds details, background, quotes)

By Gleb Bryanski and Natalya Zinets

MOSCOW/KIEV, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Russia will cut gas deliveries to Europe if Ukraine siphons off supplies crossing its territory, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday, in a warning that raised the spectre of another gas dispute.

Putin's tough rhetoric followed assurances by his Ukrainian counterpart, Yulia Tymoshenko, that Kiev would be able to meet its obligations to pay for Russian gas and deliver it to Europe after Moscow agreed to waive fines for reduced purchases.

"If they don't pay for gas supplies for internal consumption in Ukraine, they won't receive it," Putin said. "If they don't receive it, then it's likely they will siphon it from the export pipeline.

"As soon as siphoning begins, we will cut supplies. So don't come to us on the question of reliability." Europe, reliant on Russian gas shipped via Ukraine for a fifth of its demand, is eager to avoid a repeat of a stand-off in January that severed shipments for more than two weeks at the height of a freezing midwinter.

The likelihood of a repeat appeared to cool when Russia agreed to waive fines that it could have imposed on Ukraine for taking less gas than contracted in 2009, but Moscow has stepped up pressure on Kiev in recent weeks.

Putin said political infighting ahead of a Jan. 17 Ukrainian presidential election was holding up payments for gas.

"The financial means to pay are there," he said. "The IMF has confirmed this to us. The problem is that a pre-election battle is happening there."

Ukraine plans to use money supplied by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help pay for Russian gas. Moscow argues that this finance, coupled with Russia's lenience on contracted volumes, should enable Ukraine to pay.