Posted on 06/17/2014 8:20:28 PM PDT by Lorianne
After failing to pay its gas bill, Ukraine now has to pay in advance for any natural gas from Russia, Gazprom said on Monday. Both companies have filed lawsuits against each other at the Stockholm Arbitration Court
“This decision was taken due to systematic failure of Naftogaz Ukraine to pay. The debt of the company for Russian gas stands at $4.458 billion, including $1.451 billion for November and December 2013, and $3.007 billion for April-May 2014,” Gazprom said in a statement posted on their website.
“They’ve paid zero. Correspondingly we deliver zero,” Sergey Kupriyanov, a Gazprom spokesperson said in a press conference following the announcement.
(Excerpt) Read more at rt.com ...
Didn’t Gazprom double or triple the cost of natural gas to the Ukraine?
Perhaps that could have something to do with the payment problem today, eh Gazprom?
Actually, they are charging about what they charge Europe. They had increased the price, but later dropped it. I suspect they did it to gain the high ground and to appear fair. They know Ukraine will never pay anyway. Ukraine is broke.
The big increase you speak of was due to the fact that Russia had agreed with the previous regime to subsidize the gas as part of their economic pact. It was an incentive to cozy up with Russia instead of the EU. After the coup and abandonment of the pact by Ukraine, Russia didn’t see the need to subsidize anymore. I don’t blame them. Would you want to spend billions subsidizing a government that is hostile to you as part of an agreement that no longer exists?
There’s that, and the fact that Russia carved out a portion of Ukraine’s territory for itself.
No, I would not want to subsidize the Ukraine.
However, if I shot my big fat mouth off about how unfair the Ukraine was to all the Russians in the Easter Ukraine, and said it was so important that they received fair treatment, I don’t think I would be the self-destructive jackass Putin turned out to be, by doubling the gas prices to those Eastern Ukrainians.
Well they had to. The Ukraine was being unfair to the Russians in the Eastern Ukraine.
I mean Russia is the only one allowed to be unfair to them, in this instance by doubling their natural gas costs.
Maybe the Ukraine can rescue them from Russian influence now.
Gazprom got rid of Ukraine's discounted price (which they were not paying) and brought them up to Europe pricing.
Thackney, I agree with that. Others have pointed it out, and I wasn’t aware of the pricing discrepancy, Europe vs the Ukraine.
What I do find rather interesting is that Russia claims to want to help their poor friends in the Ukraine, then doubles the price of their natural gas.
With friends like that...
When someone agrees to sell nat gas at half price, the least they could do is pay that bill.
Once again, Russia’s whole reason for moving into the Ukraine with it’s citizen hit squads, was because the Ukraine was supposedly abusing the Russians on it’s soil.
So what does Russia do to fix it? It doubles the cost of natural gas to those dear poor Russians.
Double the price was just coming up to market price for everyone else.
Maybe it sounds bad to you, but when you get a huge discount and still don’t pay the bill...
The individuals were not the ones not paying, but the Ukraine gas company. I suspect the Ukraine gas company was charging its customers all along and shut off those that didn’t pay the bill, just like the rest of the world.
Once again Thackney, the Russians raised the prices to the very people they said they were there to help.
What part of that escapes you? It’s actually a very simple concept.
Now the eastern part of the Ukraine has become a war zone. Russia has certainly worked it’s magic for those people. They’re afraid to go out of their homes.
I’m sick and tired of the Russian apologists on this forum.
Putin has been in a leadership position for 16 years now. Is that the kind of democracy you support?
The Russians don't charge the people. They charge the Ukraine gas company. The Ukraine gas company was charging to deliver the gas the people, but not paying to get the gas from the Russians.
If you are offered a discount, and you want to keep the discount, you actually need to pay the bill at the discounted price. What part of that escapes you? It’s actually a very simple concept.
Now the eastern part of the Ukraine has become a war zone.
Do you believe this is solely the fault of Russia and the Ukraine government has no responsibility in the current situation?
Putin has been in a leadership position for 16 years now. Is that the kind of democracy you support?
Nice straw-man argument but not the topic we were discussing.
Frankly Thackney, your an idiot on this.
Russia came in under false pretenses.
It has not business sending in people to the Eastern Ukraine. It has no business putting it’s troops on the Ukraine’s border. I has not business raising gas prices, if it’s intent is to help the Russians in the Eastern part of the Ukraine.
So nice straw-man about the bills the Ukraine isn’t paying. Doubling the prices of the gas will certainly fix that won’t it.
First distractions to other topics then personal insults.
Your words demean Free Republic.
That was the topic of this article. Are you posting on the wrong thread?
LOL, but fronting for Putin and his disgusting tactics doesn’t demean the forum. Okay, so this is now a wing of Russia Today then right? That makes Free Republic look so much better huh.
Russia claimed it was going in to protect Russians on Ukrainian soil. It sent in terrorists to kill people and take down government institutions in a neighbor nation.
Then it raised the price of gas to the supplier of those supposed Russian people inside the Ukraine. And here you are to defend Russia for doing it.
Demeaning indeed.
No, but I believe you are. The forum for Russia Today is elsewhere.
You keep wanting to discuss this topic. Maybe you should start a thread about it instead of this one?
The topic of this thread does not change the fact that doubling the price of the natural gas will not get Russia paid any faster, and that the cost of natural gas to the very people Russia lied about wanting to support, is going to go way up.
So talking about Ukraine being behind in payments, is avoiding the obvious, and a straw-man argument as it relates to that point.
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