Posted on 09/11/2005 8:18:15 AM PDT by lizol
Tricky Question Goes down the Tubes
Vladimir Putin and Gerhard Schroeder Insure Themselves against Politic Risks in Ukraine.
First Persons Russian President Vladimir Putin flew to Berlin yesterday and met with both candidate for chancellor and was on hand for the signing of the agreement between Gazprom and the German concerns E.ON and BASF on the construction of the North European Gas Pipeline. In addition, Putin commented with glee on yesterday's events in Ukraine. His comments were somewhat mystifying, in the opinion of Kommersant special correspondent . Gazprom head Alexey Miller looked like the ca that ate the mouse as he entered the hall where the document signing and press conference were to take place. I asked him how much the construction of the pipeline was going to cost.
“The whole project,” he said with casual shrug, clearly used to bandying around such figures, “€4 billion. That's for both branches. The fist branch will be finished in the first quarter of 2010. We are splitting it with E.ON and BASF. So, what else?”
He looked at me expectantly, clearly not knowing what else could make a journalist happy.
“What do you think about the sharp reactions from your colleagues in Poland and Ukraine?” I asked helpfully. “They really don't like your idea.”
He sat down quickly. “No comment,” he snapped.
“Why?”
“The president will make those comments,” Miller answered.
He was right, too.
One can tell that German Chancellor is caught up in the election campaign. Every question he answers on any topic is tailored to his raise his rating. Because of this, every answer is very long, and still his rating is rising very slowly.
Immediately after the signing of the agreements “On the Conditions for the Realization of the Project to Build the North European Natural Gas Pipeline” and “On Cooperation on the Establishment in Moscow of a Federal Scientific and Clinical Center for Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Immunology” and a statement “On Cooperation in the Field of Energy,” the chancellor, instead of doing what was expected of him, that is, make a comment, launched into painfully long recollections of Russian-German relations and thanked – yet again – Putin for the invitation to come to Moscow for the celebration of the end of the Second World War.
Putin, who, I hope, will not be facing reelection, spoke more to the point about the pipeline: 1200 km. of pipe along the bottom of the Baltic Sea with outlets in Kaliningrad Region, Sweden and Finland and, in the long run, 3000 km. through The Netherlands to Great Britain.
“The first part will cost 2 billion rubles,” Putin said. “The whole project, 5.7 billion rubles.”
He probably didn't mean exactly those sums (his estimates differ considerably from Miller's).
Putin delighted the Germans present with the information that $6 billion has already entered the German budget from the early payment by Russia of its debt to the Paris Club. He stated, in addition, that he is sincerely grateful to the German doctors who “practically for free, in their free time, have helped their Russian colleagues.”
“And the main thing,” he continued still looking to make the Germans happy, “is that nothing had to be financed from the German side! Everything will be financed by Russian organizations from the Russian budget.”
Putin added that, if United Nations reform leads to the expansion of the Security Council, “Russia will support Germany's candidacy for a permanent seat on it.”
Here journalists asked him how he feels about the criticism from the opposition of his visit to Germany in the heat of the election battle and questioned whether his visit really will help Schroeder overcome CDU/CSU head Angel Merkel. There was a question about Ukraine as well.
Schroeder needed to answer that question more than Putin did, so Putin ceded that dubious honor to him.
“It's a good thing for me personally that Mr. Putin knows German,” Schroeder admitted.
Schroeder said the only thing he could about Ukraine: the Ukrainian leadership has the right to decide its own fate. He added confidently that the Russian leadership thought the same thing.
“As for the opposition,” Putin put in when he turn came around, “it exists to criticize us. That is the point of its existence. If not for that, it wouldn't be needed.”
He added that his friendly relations with Schroeder would continue in any case, whether he returned to his post or not. He emphatically called the chancellor a man of honor and a responsible politician.
“Regardless of the results of the elections, we remain most of all people,” Putin gushed on.
The more he spoke, the worse Schroeder's chance at the polls seemed to me. People who remain in office are not spoken of in the past and future tenses, the present is sufficient for them.
Putin was about to move on to the next question, when he recalled Ukraine.
“Oh, Ukraine,” he said with false casualness. “I just spoke to the president of Ukraine.”
“From my office!” Schroeder piped up with non-infectious laughter.
“I wouldn't dramatize events in Ukraine,” he said. “Ukraine is going through a difficult period of development.”
The Russian president said that there was nothing unusual in the resignation of the cabinet. (He had been expecting for it the whole time.)
“All the more so since the events are taking place in a tense parliamentary election campaign… The situation in Ukraine is under the president's control” Putin said confidently.
He couldn't bring himself to say that president's name.
The German journalists asked Schroeder the same thing I asked Miller about the objections of Ukraine and Poland to the agreement on the pipeline.
“As the chancellor, I must guarantee the uninterrupted delivery of gas to my country, and I am proud to do so,” he said, throwing his shoulder back.
The same question was addressed to Putin. He said that the volume of gas Russia is supposed to supply to Germany under their latest agreements cannot be delivered through the present channels.
“We are not pushing anyone out of the business,” he insisted.
This was clearly a topic the Russian president enjoyed. And he wasn't done yet.
“We want to avoid ecological and climatic risks… and lower the price of the product you but from us as a result,” he told journalists who were listening entranced. “The more countries between us, the more money goes into the final price for transit through those countries… We were just talking about Ukraine,” again, really casually. “You probably know. Yes, you know that we agreed to found a gas consortium with Russia and Ukraine, and with Germany, France, Italy… Well, where is that agreement now?”
He even looked from side to side in search of that very agreement.
“Very recently the Ukrainian partners informed us that they consider it inexpedient to continue that project. There's a Russian riddle. A and B were sitting on a pipe. A fell and B disappeared. And what is left on the pipe?”
A pipe riddle! What do you know?
“It rhymes in Russia,” Putin continued. I'll try to translate it into German.”
I looked over at Putin's translator. His lips were moving very fast. He was trying to translate it too, just in case. But Putin accomplished his task and continued.
“Children who don't listen carefully say that nothing remains. But children who listen carefully say that “and” remains,” the Russian president exclaimed.
Judging from the extraordinarily satisfied look on the faces of those standing around him, they were the “and” Putin was hinting at.
“As for supporting the federal chancellor in the elections, I have a meeting with planned with Ms. Merkel. Why don't you say that I am supporting her in the elections? Bye bye.”
And he left for the Russian embassy to support Merkel, who was already waiting for him.
I would not say that Merkel is a beautiful woman up close. But I was more interested in how she would charm the voters with her speeches. I don't think has any other resources than that. Personal charms are not the point here.
Putin recalled that the party Merkel now heads was founded 50 years ago and Conrad Adenauer came to Moscow to sign an agreement restoring diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union.
She said that the election campaign did not allow her to come to Moscow to celebrate that anniversary.
“But I would like to come very much,” she said with difficulty, in Russian.
She seemed to think that relations would wither without her.
Mr Schröder, known as the "bosses' Chancellor", is comfortable in big-business circles and there are rumours that he plans to go on to work for the Russian energy firm Gazprom. He could also supple- ment his €7,500 (£5,000)-a-month Chancellor's pension and €326,000 "transition money" by giving speeches earning thousands a time.
Indeed that is the thing worth celebrating! Three cheers for Soviet Union! hahaha
Regarding the UN, I sure wouldn't want to see Germany have a permanent seat on the security council. It's corrupt enough as it is. But you can see the big picture emerging, Russia is positioning itself to be the big cheeze of All Europe, and control of the UN as well. People sure has short memories in Europe. But as long as it's anti American, they'll sell their souls to the devil.
Was that a vieled threat from Germany to the Ukraine? That otta go over well. They don't have short memories there.
The thing is that he is not a moron, but a corrupt a**hole. You can be sure that he is paid off well by Gasprom (he will not work for them directly but indirect through their vassals Wintershall and Eon) after his lost election for doing absolutely nothing. It is not bad to get - lets say 1.000.000,- Euros/year - for passing gas into an armchair. He knows very well that his political career is toasted.
Anyway there is another problem:
Merkel will get chancellor, but her vice chancellor (and foreign minister) is going to be probably Peer Steinbrück from the SPD, since the FDP will not have enough votes to form a coalition with the CDU. The good news are, that Steinbrück is not homosexual (im comparison to the chairman of the FDP, Westerwelle), but under his influence the current German foreing policy will continue to a certain extend in the future. Steinbrück is different to Schröder, but he also sees things different than Merkel. It will stay interesting.
Take a look at my #7
So Gazprom will have interesting "managers" in the future! Kwasniewski, Miller (Leszek not Alexey! Btw family? Maybe maybe :)) and now Schroeder. Who next?
He doesn't even need a pipeline...
I just can't help comparing these two to Stalin and Hitler and how the two devided the Poland back in '39. Except that now there are Poland and Ukraine to devide. ;)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.