Free Republic

President Biden delivers a statement on Russia and Ukraine.

Russia is tightening its economic screws on Ukraine, ordering Thursday a further increase in the price of gas it sells to the country and asking that past bills — which are growing by the day — be paid. Ukraine, whose economy is on the brink of collapse as it awaits international aid, relies on Russia for almost all its energy. Russia had been giving it discounts on gas as long as the government was willing to have close ties with Moscow. Now that the new government has signed a partnership with the European Union instead, those favors are being pulled...

In the wake of the "gas war" between Russia and Ukraine in early 2006, and the brief interruption it caused in supplies to Europe, the world awoke to the increasing importance of Central Asian natural gas for European energy security. After all, the bulk of the natural gas that Ukraine imports through Russia comes from Turkmenistan. Now, with international ratings agency Fitch warning that the elements are in place for a "perfect storm" of an energy crisis, news comes on July 30 that talks between Turkmenistan and Ukraine over an independent agreement for gas supplies in the fourth quarter of...

PRAGUE, June 29, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Turkmenistan's Foreign Ministry warned in a statement today after a suspension of talks on gas deliveries to Russia that supplies will be cut off in September if Moscow and Ashgabat fail to reach a new import deal. Russian gas giant Gazprom said today that it has been unable to reach agreement on price in a new import deal with Turkmenistan and that negotiations have been suspended. The announcement of the negotiations' collapse came after a meeting between Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov and Gazprom chief Aleksei Miller. Turkmenistan wants to raise the price of its...

While she is not yet Ukraine's prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko on Thursday began outlining what she wanted to do once in office, beginning with revisiting a Russian gas deal forged after supplies were halted in January. "I think all issues on gas supplies to Ukraine now require further deep revision and review," Tymoshenko told the parliament in Kiev. Tymoshenko stressed that "all new relations with Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan should be built on a friendly basis." But sources close to the Kremlin immediately homed in on Tymoshenko's remarks, warning of a wider energy conflict. "It is another wake-up call...

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed apprehension about democratic reforms in Russia. According to her, as cited by AFP, some of the changes made by the Kremlin "are not headed in that direction." Rice noted that modern Russia is a long way from the Soviet system, but, according to the Secretary of State, Washington is disturbed by Moscow's attempts to establish total control over NGOs, and also suspects that Moscow is using its gas exports as a tool to put political pressure on its neighbors. In an interview for CBS, Condoleezza Rice warned against international sanctions against the government...

(...) The murky solution allowed both nations to claim victory, though Russia emerged with its reputation on world energy markets bruised after disrupting natural gas supplies to Europe in the middle of winter. Ukraine's gas utility bill will about double. Under the deal, Russia will sell natural gas to the intermediary company at the price it had demanded from Ukraine, $230 per 1,000 cubic meters, while Ukraine will buy gas from that company as it comes into the country for $95. Ukraine has been paying at a rate of $50 to Russia. The company will balance out the price at...

Russian natural gas surged through Ukraine to countries across Europe on Tuesday, banishing the spectre of immediate and prolonged shortages because of Moscow's price dispute with Kyiv. But relief was tempered by the realization that the continent's dependence on Russian natural gas means it is vulnerable to future energy crises. About one-quarter of Europe's gas comes from Russia - 80 per cent of that via Ukraine - and the standoff raised fears of serious gas shortages during a cold winter. European officials sought to dispel anxieties left after some countries saw gas supplies from Russia and crossing Ukraine cut by...

Disgruntled Ukrainians thronged Bessarabsky Market in downtown Kiev in freezing temperatures Tuesday to buy electric heaters after a natural gas cutoff by Russia brought on by a pricing dispute. The halt of Russian gas supplies that began Sunday has not yet caused major heating problems, but Kiev residents feared the two sides were far from a resolution. Russian and Ukrainian officials resumed negotiations Tuesday, with officials saying results of the talks would be made public midmorning Wednesday, according to the RIA-Novosti news agency. Residents of the capital largely blamed Russia, which wants Ukraine to pay four times more for gas...

Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko only has to look in the mirror and see his pockmarked, disfigured face – the result of chemical poisoning – to know that the KGB is still in charge in Moscow. Since the beginning of this year we all know it, too. Russia’s state-owned gas company Gazprom cut the supply of gas to Ukraine after the latter refused to pay the new price Russia is charging Kiev: a rise from 50$ to 230$ per 1,000 cubic metres of gas. As in the days of the Cold War, the Russians have their Western apologists. The latter say...

3 January 2006 -- Russian authorities say gas supplies to European countries have been fully restored after a disruption caused by a row with Ukraine over gas prices, while representatives of the Russian and Ukrainian monopoly gas monopolies are scheduled to meet today to discuss the standoff. Russia's state-run natural-gas monopoly Gazprom announced earlier today that it was increasing the amount of gas shipped through pipelines in Ukraine to assure full deliveries to customers in European countries. Gazprom has since said that supplies to European customers were back to normal. Austria and Hungary, which had suffered supply cuts of up...

Dispute Fuels Anti-Russian Sentiment The Associated Press KIEV -- Russia's hard-line stance against Ukraine in their natural gas price dispute could backfire and provoke a surge of pro-Western sentiment. "Russia just doesn't get it -- to win influence ... don't apply pressure and make threats," said analyst Serhiy Taran of the International Institute of Democracy. "It creates problems for all the pro-Russian parties because Russia doesn't have a very good image right now." A planned protest Friday in support of cooperation with Russia attracted only eight people in downtown Kiev. Former presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych's Party of the Regions, which...

HOT SPRINGS -- When regular gasoline is priced at $2.119 per gallon, it seems odd to call it a gas war. But that's exactly what is going on these days in Hot Springs and in Chadron, Neb. Gasoline retailers are going toe-to-toe in both cities, pushing their prices well below the $2.299 that drivers are paying in Rapid City.