Ukraine might fail to pay for gas – Putin to EU
Published: 01 November, 2009, 22:51
Edited: 02 November, 2009, 19:58
TAGS: EU, Russia, Ukraine, Politics
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has informed his Swedish counterpart of possible Ukrainian problems paying for Russian gas and its transit to European consumers.
His Swedish counterpart assured the Russian leader that he will convey his concerns to the European Commission.
"Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt of Sweden, which currently presides at the EU, about the development of the Russia-EU dialogue and exchange of current information, including that about energy issues," the Russian government press office was quoted by Itar-Tass news agency as saying.
The press office said that the information about possible problems with Ukraine paying for Russian gas is coming from both unofficial and official sources.
On Friday, the Russian Prime Minister said that his Ukrainian counterpart, Yulia Tymoshenko, had told him over the telephone that President Viktor Yushchenko is blocking payments for Russian gas.
01.11.2009, 17:37
Eleven dead in Interior Ministry plane crash in Far EastEleven people have been killed in an Interior Ministry plane crash in Yakutia in Russia's Far East. The bodies have already been recovered, according to a source in the Emergencies Ministry. |
02.11.2009, 09:52
Strive for life: wild beauty under threatWith its vast natural habitats, Russia has some of the greatest wildernesses on Earth, but hunters, combined with a lack of funding, are threatening some of its most exotic inhabitants. |
The solution to this little problem can be very easily solved. Hillary has the solution to all the world problems, both big and small. Just ask her.
Putin has been warning about Ukraine's likely default on the gas contract with his recent public speeches. He warned about it in a meeting with the Danish Prime Minister just today. Ukraine is a financial basket case and cannot pay the bill - just like last year and just like 2006. Meanwhile, Yushenko has been running a PR campaign against Russia for years now and Ukraine's Naftogaz stole $$ billions in gas last winter. Gazprom was pumping gas into Ukraine for most of a day last January and nothing was leaving that so-called "transit" country, before the gas finally got shut off. If the Europeans want to dink around and pretend there is no problem until THEIR gas gets cut off - again - I suppose they are free to do so. Pretty stupid, though. Do they think Russia will knuckle under this time and give gas away for free? If I lived in a country dependent on gas piped through Ukraine, I would be buying electric heaters for resale in January. The price will be WAY UP then and I might make a nice profit. I noticed that Yushenko announced again today that he wants a "review" of the contract Timoshenko signed with Gazprom last January. It sounds like Yushenko is gearing up his propaganda engine to default again, and blame Russia for it - again.