Ukraine is ‘a failed state unable to guarantee the physical safety of the business’

Ukraine does not control its territory and is unable to guarantee not only the lives of its own citizens but also the economic safety of the pipeline operation, or the businesses on its territory, political scientist Mateusz Piskorsky told RT.

RT:Ukrainian authorities suggested theblast may have been caused by a terrorist attack. So can Ukraine be trusted as a transit country anymore?

Mateusz Piskorsky: Of course not. If you look at the country, it’s no more a state, it’s rather a kind of failed state which doesn’t control its territory and is unable to guarantee not only the lives of its own citizens but also the economic safety of the pipelines, the physical safety of the business going on there – this is one of the very many examples. If we are talking about a terrorist attack, as the Kiev authorities do now, we can tell that it is hardly possible that the so-called separatists, the enemies of the regime in Kiev, would operate in Poltava region. It is highly probable that the neo-Nazis of Dmitry Yarosh and his “Right Sector” are quite active and operating there and one of the parties which has organized the so-called "EuroMaidan", the protests and the whole story after the protests, one of the forces which is actively supporting the Kiev authorities, which is coordinated by the Chief of Security Force of Ukraine, the SBU, Mr. Nalyvaichenko, and would be in charge of this terrorist attack. I guess it’s a question to Kiev if it still controls its own supporters. If yes, they are still controlling the neo-Nazis and hardline nationalists in Kiev, there is a question that has inspired them or ordered them to commit this terrorist attack.

RT:The blast comes in the midst of Russia's gas payment dispute with Ukraine. Is that significant?

MP: Of course, without any doubt. I don’t believe in any miracles here and I guess it is closely connected to the whole negotiations process. As we know Ukraine is not ready not only to negotiate the just price which is offered now by Gazprom as a kind of compromise, but it’s not willing to pay any more for the gas. So now we may tell that some political forces like the “Right Sector” and probably the people who are behind it are trying to blackmail Russian authorities and the Gazprom company that they are going not only to reject all payments Russia wants to get from them, but they are going to stop all the transfers through the territory of Ukraine. As we know for the moment Russia doesn’t have any alternative as the South Stream project has been blocked by Bulgaria, which was under strong American pressure. The whole picture of this is perhaps of a kind of blackmail used by Ukrainian authorities during unsuccessful negotiations with Moscow. I do not think that the Ukrainian authorities will reach their goals by using such terrorist methods.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.