You're reading: Ukrainian political analysts predict new ‘gas war’ with Moscow

Ukrainian political experts believe that a cooling in Ukrainian-Russian relations may last until the presidential election in Russia, and a new gas war may start between Kyiv and Moscow.

"If the situation of [Ukraine] balancing between East and West continues, then we should not expect a fast and easy solution to the gas dispute with Russia and a way out of a deadlock in relations with Russia," Director of the Penta Center for Applied Political Research Volodymyr Fesenko said at a press conference in Kyiv on Monday.

Fesenko said he believes that the cooling of relations with Moscow may last until the presidential election in Russia.

In addition, in his opinion, the results of the trial of former prime minister and leader of the Batkivschyna Party Yulia Tymoshenko may lead to "a certain cooling in relations with the West."

The expert expressed concern over the possible effect of Tymoshenko’s trial on the Ukraine-EU association agreement.

"If the response [of the Euroepan Union] is be stern, the EU’s leadership may refuse to complete the negotiations in the near future," Fesenko said.

At the same time, he did not rule out that the agreement may still be signed, but there may arise problems with its ratification in some countries of the EU.

In turn, Director of Kyiv Center for Political and Conflict Studies Mykhailo Pohrebynsky said that relations between Ukraine and Russia have reached deadlock.

According to him, the fate of the association agreement with the EU depends on how Ukraine is able to shape its cooperation with Russia. It is possible Europe will use some excuse not to sign the association agreement, the analyst said.

Pohrebynsky said he believes that Ukraine should make a choice of its international position, in order not to find itself on the verge of a "trade war" with Russia.

At the same time, the analyst said that Europe needs to sign an association agreement involving the formation of a free trade zone more than Ukraine does.

Head of the Ukrainian Barometer Sociological Service Victor Nebozhenko said that conflict over the gas issue between Ukraine and Russia is inevitable. According to him, this conflict may involve such players as the United States and the European Union.