RIA Novosti: Energy Spats ‘Estrange’ Russia and Ukraine
An unequal energy partnership between Russia and the Ukraine is driving the two former Soviet countries further and further apart, Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov said Friday, according to his spokesman.
“Every day the unequal gas agreement with Russia is in place it estranges Ukraine and Russia,” Azarov said in comments released by his spokesman, Vitaly Lukyanenko. “Temporary one-sided advantages do not allow the building of a long-term relationship, and this gas contract is a constant irritant for the bilateral Russian-Ukrainian relationship.”
Ukraine is dependent on Russian natural gas and has repeatedly alleged that Russia exploits its position to charge inflated prices for the fuel. Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine have failed to produce any resolution, and Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said last month that recent talks with Moscow about reducing gas prices had just led to “humiliating” Russian proposals.