President Dmitri Medvedev (1965- )
On Wednesday evening, during a telephone conversation initiated by the Ukrainian side with his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yushchenko, in the course of the conversation, President Dmitri Medvedev pointed out the following to the Ukrainian president:
- For Russia, the question of gas delivery to its European customers is considered a part of its fulfilment of its economic obligations and it is not a political matter. Unfortunately, this problem became a “hostage” to disputes in the Ukrainian leadership and its inability to take appropriate measures under the prevailing situation.
- Russia never pulled out of talks with the Ukraine and is ready to resume them at any moment. President Medvedev called on President Yushchenko to give the relevant instructions concerning this to the government and energy authorities of the Ukraine.
- If gas deliveries to the Ukraine are to resume, Naftogaz must sign the necessary contracts with Gazprom. The gas price under the agreement shall be fixed at same level with the prevailing European market price. No discounts or privileges shall be stipulated [by the Ukrainian side].
- President Medvedev pointed out to President Yushchenko that European consumers did not receive transit gas pumped via the Ukraine due to illegal diversion of gas by the Ukraine, which is absolutely inadmissible, and it is at odds with earlier signed agreements between Russia, the Ukraine, and European consumers, or to other international treaties.
- The outstanding gas debt, President Medvedev noted, was still unsettled. These arrears must be settled by the Ukraine in full and in the shortest possible time.
- President Medvedev said that if gas supplies were to resume, it is necessary to set up a control group consisting of representatives from the energy authorities of Russia and the Ukraine, observers from the European Union, and members of the international law firms who represent the interests of Gazprom and Naftogaz.
President Medvedev called on President Yushchenko to take urgent and immediate action to settle the gas dispute by reaching the necessary agreements to guarantee an early resumption of the delivery of Russian gas to European consumers.
8 January 2009
Voice of Russia World Service
http://ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=rus&q=96780&cid=445&p=08.01.2009 (in Russian)
Editor’s Note:
One wonders why Yushchenko is playing this particular game of “chicken”. One reason is obvious, even to the slow learners. Yushchenko fears an improvement of relations between the USA and Russia under President Obama. To be blunt, Mr Obama needs his hands free to deal with the economic meltdown caused by the Clinton/Bush neoliberal financial policies. He shall have neither the time nor funds to deal with neo-Fascist popinjays in the Russian Near Abroad.
In short, Yushchenko is attempting to hold Europe at knifepoint whilst GWB is still president (as he shall be for the next 11 days). GWB would like nothing better than to leave a further mess for President Obama to clean up, on top of the nasty Augean Stable he left on Wall Street, for sordid, petty, and partisan reasons. That is, the Bushie neocons are encouraging Yushchenko in his crackbrained brinkmanship, backed by the Galician Uniate diaspora amen corner.
This can spiral out of hand all too easily. Shall this be GWB’s legacy, the collapse of the very puppet states that he and his neocon paladins propped up? The next two weeks shall tell us. Unfortunately, my crystal ball is broken…
