Posted on 04/13/2014 9:46:36 AM PDT by Kaslin
Ukraine opposition leaders sign deal with government
Friday 21 February 2014
Ukraine’s president, Viktor Yanukovich, and three opposition leaders have signed an agreement intended to end a crisis that sparked bloody clashes between protesters and police on the streets of the capital, Kiev.
The deal sets out plans to hold early presidential elections, form a national unity government and revert to the 2004 constitution, removing some of the president’s powers. Yanukovich did not smile during a signing ceremony lasting several minutes in the presidential headquarters, but he did shake hands with the opposition.
The deal was also signed by two European Union foreign ministers who helped broker it in tortuous negotiations that lasted more than 30 hours. “This agreement is not the end of the process. It’s the beginning of the process,” the German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said after the signing.
There were two separate gas discount agreements with Russia and Ukraine, one discount for the Black Sea Fleet lease and another as part of the December 2013 loan package designed to keep Ukraine out of default.
After Yanukovitch was overthrown the Russians halted the loan package and as of April 1st the gas discount associated with it.
Russia later on decided they no longer would abide by the Black Sea Fleet agreement, which they had pre-paid a portion of, because Ukraine still wasn’t paying anything for the gas they consumed and because Crimea is no longer part of Ukraine.
So there were really two gas discounts that Russia was giving, neither of which really mattered since Ukraine was a complete deadbeat about paying for any of it.
So Ukraine owes Russia for the gas and it owes Russia for the portion of the loan it got in December, and it still owes the IMF for a loan it got in 2008, and with less legal certainty it owes for the portion of the Black Fleet lease that Russia pre-paid.
All of which will soon be transferred to the tab of the US taxpayers, thanks to the meddlesome neocons at the Obama State Dept. and the Republican pep squad in the US Senate.
What?
As I pointed out to you Yanukovich broke the agreement(that he signed) by NOT signing the Rada law that restored the Constitution to its 2004 form.
Do you now understand?
Well, finally someone got it right.
The 2013 loan package wasn't signed off by either side.
The only discount active was the Black Sea Fleet lease discount.
The Right Sector Nazis condemned the deal and said they wanted Yanukovich’s head immediately after it was signed. And then Yanukovich fled Kiev to get the hell out of town. How was he supposed to sign the bill when the Bandera Nazis were fully in control of Kiev?
The only discount active was the Black Sea Fleet lease discount.
More precisely I should say the 2013 loan package was never ratified and Russia never bought the bonds.
Nonsense.
You forgot the part where Russia owes Ukraine a naval base and some territory. If the deal is torn up.
Read Monmouth78’s post #3 above. As he points out, the existing price was subsidized. It is now being raised to the European market price.
You need to read past post #3.
The issue is incredibly complex. Most “news” and “analysis” on the topic is propaganda. I get that, and I’m not carrying any brief for Russia.
However, there are some simple, easily-verifiable facts — and we’d all be better off sticking to them (however rare they may be). The market price for Russian gas in most of Europe is a simple, easily-verifiable fact. Let’s start on the basis of that fact.
One may go from the known facts (the price Russia was charging Ukraine was less than the market price of gas in most of the rest of Europe); and argue about more complex, less easily-verifiable facts — contracts, transit fees etc. What you can’t do (if you’re interested in the truth, and not propaganda) is just ignore the facts.
I deny international law. International law is for Commies/leftists. Are you a one world government type of radical?
Irony.
Ignoring the facts about the contract and Russia's annexation of Crimea.
Some much for the truth.
Sorry impimp. Post 54 was meant for USFRIENDINVICTORIA.
I never ignored them — I just said that they are more complex, and less-easily-verified. And they are. The market price for natural gas in Europe is easy to determine (in fact, it’s determined many times a day). The issues regarding contracts, transit fees etc. are the type of things that make lawyers rich. You may be absolutely right about them — but, you can’t build a credible case by denying the simple, easily-verifiable facts.
I never ignored the market rate for gas.
“Read Monmouth78’s post #3 above. As he points out, the existing price was subsidized. It is now being raised to the European market price.”
I don’t need to read it, because I trade the financial securities and am well aware of the day to day market prices of oil and gas. Yes, Russia subsidized its pricing of natural gas as a monopolist undercutting the competition in Europe and thereby discourage Europe from developing competitive sources as alternatives to the Russian supplies. Once the competition had been eliminated or strongly suppressed enough to make the European customers dependent upon the Russian subsidized pricing and volumes, Russia then used their monopoly position to raise their monopolized prices higher than would have existed had the competitors not been previously displaced by Russia’s subsidized supplies. Poland in particular and some other members of the EU have been working since the Russian interruption of supplies in 2009 to replace the Russian supplies at any cost to preserve their sovereign independence from Russian threats to further interrpt Russian supplies. It will take some time for the European market to replace the Russian supplies sufficiently for the market prices to normaliz again at the more natural lower pricing.
Meanwhile, the Russian war of aggression against the Ukraine has handed the Ukraine the legal right to void or suspend all contracts and seize all Russian assets, including the ~2 billion dollar accounts receivable owed by the Ukraine to Russia’s Gazprom, as belligerant properties and war reparations.
“I deny international law. International law is for Commies/leftists. Are you a one world government type of radical?”
You’ve got it backwards, it is the “Commies/leftists” who deny, abrogate, manipulate, and abuse international law. By saying you “deny” international law you are associating yourself with the acts of the Communists and the Putin regime in Russia, and any acts you may take in defiance of international law would make you an international criminal.
Like I said — the issue is complex. I was just trying to make one simple point, about one simple fact — the market price of gas in Europe.
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