You're reading: Experts: Russia to make no concessions on gas prices unless Ukraine surrenders gas transport system

Russia is unlikely to make any concessions for Ukraine in the issue of lowering gas prices unless Ukraine transfers its gas transport system to Russian ownership, Ukrainian experts say.

“It is unlikely that these negotiations will be held without transferring Ukraine’s transit gas pipeline system to the joint ownership of enterprises created with Gazprom participation,” director of the Institute for Policy Analysis and International Studies Serhiy Tolstov said at a press conference in Kyiv on Jan.13.

After Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin takes up the presidential post, Russia’s overall foreign policy will be "bolder in relation to the West,” Tolstov added.

“This position will be clearly oriented towards Russia’s strategic partners, and it will be more demonstrative towards those factors unsuitable to the Russian side. I think there will be a sharper criticism of the financial crisis in the EU and more opposition to the formulation of a common foreign policy and security policy with the EU,” he said.

Moscow under Putin’s leadership will focus on bi-lateral relations with Germany, France and other countries whose governments view Russia as a strategic partner with which to maintain priority connections, according to Tolstov.

Russia will take more steps towards implementing an integrated model on the basis of the Customs Union and the Eurasian economic space, he said.

Head of the Ukrainian Institute for Public Policy Viktor Chumak said that Ukraine’s gas transport system will continue to be a subject of special attention for Russia. “It isn’t worth it to expect a softening in the conditions for changing the gas price for Ukraine. Indeed, instead of the political component, we need to talk more about the economic component of softening such conditions. And this economic component is approximately $5-$7 billion, and nobody will voluntarily refuse such funds,” he said.

Russia’s policy towards Ukraine will not change much after Putin returns to power, Chumak said. “For Russia, this interest lies in very simple and laconic matters. That is first and foremost full political and economic hegemony in the post-soviet space,” he said.

The Russian leadership’s attention will be focused on a project for creating a joint Eurasian space, and Moscow’s strengths will be directed at Ukraine’s geopolitical choices, he said.

“Work will be carried out here not only with Ukraine’s leadership, but also with the EU’s leadership. After all, we know Russia’s lobbying abilities in relation to Ukraine with regards to its geopolitical aspirations. The NATO summit in Bucharest demonstrated that,” Chumak said.

Russia will apply this same line of thinking in the humanitarian sphere.

“This is humanitarian, linguistic and religious expansion,” he said.