Putin pressures Ukraine over gas
Kiev– Ukraine must pay in advance for Russian gas supplies, starting next month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said today, raising the pressure on Russia’s struggling neighbour as Moscow voiced dismay over what it said was Ukraine’s reluctance to implement an international peace plan.
Putin said in a letter to European leaders that Ukraine’s debt for Russian gas supplies had reached US$ 3.5 billion ( NZ$ 4b), and because of its refusal to pay Moscow, it would have to switch to pre- paid gas deliveries, starting from June 1.
Putin first warned of the move in April, in a letter to European leaders, whose nations are customers of Russian statecontrolled natural gas giant Gazprom.
Ukraine serves as a major conduit for Russian gas supplies to Europe, and pricing disputes have led to shutdowns in the past.
Putin said gas talks involving Russia, Ukraine and the European Union had failed to reach a compromise, and Ukraine had refused to pay even though it had received a US$ 3.2b bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
Ukraine has said it will pay if Moscow restores price discounts cancelled after the toppling of proRussian president Viktor Yanukovych in February, after months of protests.
Russia denounced Yanukovych’s ouster as a coup and quickly sent troops to take over Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which it annexed weeks later. In April, a mutiny erupted across Ukraine’s vast eastern industrial heartland, where pro- Russian insurgents have seized government buildings and fought government troops.
The insurgents in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions declared independence after referendums last weekend, which were rejected as a sham by Ukraine’s government and the West.
The insurgents in Donetsk today announced the creation of their own parliament and cabinet. They appointed Igor Strelkov, the leader of the insurgents’ armed wing, whom Kiev says is a Russian intelligence officer, as defence minister.
‘‘ A civil war is under way, and it’s important for us to create a power bloc to successfully fight the Kiev junta,’’ said Yelena Korovkina, a member of the self- proclaimed parliament.
Kiev and the West allege that Russia is fomenting the unrest in Ukraine, but Moscow denies this. The United States and the EU have imposed sanctions on Russia.
Moscow supported a Swissbrokered peace plan, which calls for ending hostilities, an amnesty for the rebels, and a nationwide dialogue between the government and its foes on decentralisation and the status of the Russian language.
Ukraine has remained cool towards the initiative, saying it fails to require any Russian action to deescalate the crisis.
The first session of round table talks was held in Kiev yesterday.