European Gas Halted As Russia-Ukraine Deal Appears To Falter

Mrs. Timoshenko has just bargained a 20% discount to what all other European countries pay for gas. The lady has scored her foremost and primary goal in the gas crisis as now there is no need to guess who will become the next Ukrainian president. For this lady the crisis was nothing other than the beginning of her election campaign for future presidency.
Nevertheless, Ukraine’s liability to pay remains highly questionable. No political or economical mechanism has been contrived should the Ukraine wield its ‘privilege” to block gas supplies in the future. Given its distressing financial situation engraved by the world financial crisis, the next blockage crisis is just around the corner. Regretfully, the EU had nothing to say in the matter and will remain hostage to extremely deplorable and unmanageable consequences. Bearing in mind the way Mrs. Timoshenko handles things, she will not be a remedy to Europe’s energy problems.
Consequently, I see the gleam in the eyes of US policy makers. Mrs. Timoshenko as next president will keep her hands tight on the throats of Europe and Russia making the reliability of Russia gas supplies to Europe vulnerable, and dependable on the upshots of the political situation in the Ukraine, which is far from being stable.

The Ukraine has just bargained itself a 20% discount on the price of gas all other European countries pay. Now, it is clear enough why the pipeline line was blocked and for what reason. There is little hope that they will not continue to muddle payment, so the problem is still there.

Valentine Akishkin
Russian entrepreneur

TIME TO AWAKE FROM TRANSATLANTIC ILLUSIONS

Bolstered by the Bush administration the EU has been rigorously digging itself into series of ungovernable brisances. Two coloured revolutions in Georgia and the Ukraine sponsored and adorned by transatlantic unity have brought nothing but confusion. Bush’s spate to expand NATO by including these two subversive handcrafted “democracies” was premeditated as an instrument to vie “resurgent” Russia; the whole evasion being enshrouded behind a veil of “honorable” purposes.
Not the least pertinacity was paid to either diagnose the consequences of hastily ushering these machinated political appendages into power or determine why the cheerleaders of these “democracies” so insistently sought entrance to NATO. In the first case the EU’s unscrupulous and unresisting demeanor, consecrated by US doggedness was humbly assumed by Saakashvili to be a blessing for his bloody swashbuckling assault of South Ossetia.
At the same time, the EU bestowed itself the role of an innocent, sinless bystander, whereas EU stolidity and disregard multiplied by US pandering was the fuse that instigated Saakashvili’s intervention of South Ossetia.
Today, Europe is facing its next self-pollinated Gordian knot based on the same quaint transatlantic doctrine, “Russia can never be right”. The present day “orange” political elite in the Ukraine; a regime that the Transatlantic Unity has so lovingly fostered has emerged with an “orange” interpretation of resolving financial problems. Apart from siphoning or bluntly saying sealing Russian gas, transatlantic fostering has brought Yushenko and his associates to the belief, similar to the case of Saakashvili, that there is no limit to unheeding maleficence as long as it implies harm on Russia. Blocking Russia gas supplies, crucial to Europe, found pardon in the “transatlantic agenda”, although it is only fair to say that the negative impact affected mainly on east European countries, some of which are not EU members, and others have little say in European affairs.

Ukraine’s blocking gas supplies to Europe is only a consequence of today’s toothless European policy following up “transatlantic fraternity” stipulating that support to any regime be offered as long as it opposes Russia. What better way would there be to contend Russia other than surrounding it with a military block or by showing how vulnerable its gas supplies were. The US plan of finding an alternative route for gas to Europe is scoring points supported by the Ukraine’s disrupting gas supplies to Europe. Immediate Ukrainian interests fall in unison to US long term aspirations and explain how Yushenko with a popularity rating of 2 % dares to harass both Russia and the EU.
Transatlantic patronizing of “colour” revolutions, the expansion of NATO or the installation of US anti rocket systems in Europe will not disgruntle “resurgent” Russia as it will at length backfire on Europe itself. Georgia has lost all hope of finding a way to integrate South Ossetia and Abkhazia and the Ukraine has become a territory of unpredictable political upheaval. The EU must understand that the time has come to put serious doubt on the Cold War reflexes that constitute today’s transatlantic agenda.

However, Ukrainian energy adviser Bohdan Sokolovsky said Russia deliberately shipped the gas along a technically arduous route that requires Ukraine to cut domestic consumers out before it can deliver gas to the Balkans.

He said a gas entry point on the Russian border and a gas pumping station near the Romanian border where Gazprom wants its gas delivered are not linked by an export pipeline.

By midday, both companies had issued statements suggesting tensions in the new arrangement. Naftogaz, the Ukrainian national energy company, said its technicians had received a telegram from Gazprom early Tuesday saying the Russians would send a test shipment to the Balkans later in the day. It was unclear whether the pipelines could transport this small volume without being repressurized first, however.

The Naftogaz statement said the arrangement with the test shipment had not been previously agreed between the companies.

"Naftogaz announces that this volume and destination was not coordinated in time between the operators of the two adjacent gas transport system," referring to the pipeline systems of Russia and Ukraine. "This strongly contradicts established practice."