Milan came, Milan went. Despite declarations from politicians about agreement over ‘parameters’, there is no real solution for the gas crisis in Ukraine.
Meanwhile in Moscow, the first snow has fallen. Perhaps in a week or so, Ukraine will follow.
A summary of the state of affairs: the Russians since June have insisted on a gas price of $485/1000 m3, but will offer a discount of $100, provided Ukraine first pays the outstanding gas bills. And from now on, considering the behavior of the Ukrainians in the past, the Russians will only deliver new gas on a pre-paid basis. The Ukrainians reject this and demand that the “just price” should be $269 (past and present), as negotiated by ousted president Yanukovitch in December.
But that price was from a time when Ukraine was still in Russian orbit and Russia’s friend. Currently it is a western colony and now market prices prevail. Under pressure from the Europeans, they've offered to pay the outstanding debt on a temporary $320 basis, until a final agreement can be reached. The Ukrainians however insist that this kind of money paid would be for gas delivered, not payments on outstanding debt. The Russians declined and went home.
So what’s next? Temperatures will fall and Ukraine is going to suffer. It's not difficult to predict what the Ukrainian government will do next: illegally tap, just like they did in 2009, forcing the Russians to shut off deliveries intended for Europe as they pass through Ukraine. And since the Europeans, on orders from Washington, have halted the construction of South-Stream, (after all, we don’t want to be too dependent on Russia, do we?), Europe is now dependent on pipelines in Ukraine.
Complete story at - Russian news: America Laughs as EU Is Punished for Ukraine Disaster - Russia Insider
Meanwhile in Moscow, the first snow has fallen. Perhaps in a week or so, Ukraine will follow.
A summary of the state of affairs: the Russians since June have insisted on a gas price of $485/1000 m3, but will offer a discount of $100, provided Ukraine first pays the outstanding gas bills. And from now on, considering the behavior of the Ukrainians in the past, the Russians will only deliver new gas on a pre-paid basis. The Ukrainians reject this and demand that the “just price” should be $269 (past and present), as negotiated by ousted president Yanukovitch in December.
But that price was from a time when Ukraine was still in Russian orbit and Russia’s friend. Currently it is a western colony and now market prices prevail. Under pressure from the Europeans, they've offered to pay the outstanding debt on a temporary $320 basis, until a final agreement can be reached. The Ukrainians however insist that this kind of money paid would be for gas delivered, not payments on outstanding debt. The Russians declined and went home.
So what’s next? Temperatures will fall and Ukraine is going to suffer. It's not difficult to predict what the Ukrainian government will do next: illegally tap, just like they did in 2009, forcing the Russians to shut off deliveries intended for Europe as they pass through Ukraine. And since the Europeans, on orders from Washington, have halted the construction of South-Stream, (after all, we don’t want to be too dependent on Russia, do we?), Europe is now dependent on pipelines in Ukraine.
Complete story at - Russian news: America Laughs as EU Is Punished for Ukraine Disaster - Russia Insider
No comments:
Post a Comment
All comments subject to moderation.