Although another big question is whether accusations that Ukrainian Naftogaz diverted gas supplies destined for Europe. Still the question that needs to be answered first by genuienly unbiased experts whether Russia is in fact in a breach of a gas delivery contract or whether contract allows Russia to demand market prices as of 2006.
I think the 3rd party (like International Arbitration) need to make its verdict on this.
Putin blinked?
Andrei Illarionov, dismissed from the post of economic adviser to Vladimir Putin in late December, told Ekho Moskvy radio on Monday, Gazprom had no right to cut off gas supplies to Ukraine on January 1 because an earlier agreement with Ukraine’s Naftogaz made it impossible for Gazprom to force a price rise to $230 per 1,000 cubic meters.
“Today’s prices, $50 per 1,000 cubic meters, were set by a supplementary agreement to a contract between Gazprom and Naftogaz which was signed on Aug. 8, 2004. The contract, according to the text of the supplementary agreement, is to be in effect for five years, up to 2009. The supplementary agreement states that the price of $50 per 1,000 cubic meters is fixed. For those who don’t fully understand the meaning of the Russian word fixed, it says two lines further down that these prices are not changeable,” Illarionov told Ekho Moskvy on Monday