EU-Ukraine relations
Yulia Tymoshenko
Euro crisis
Verkhovna Rada
Chornobyl
Georgiy Gongadze
Libel law
Oct. 28 parliamentary election
Ukrainian vs. Russian language
Yanukovych flirts with Russia as election looms
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych shake hands during their meeting in the Bocharov Rchei residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, southern Russia, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Mykhailo Markiv, Presidential Press Service)
© AP
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SOCHI, RUSSIA - Aug 25 (Reuters) - Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych hinted on Saturday he may soften his stance against Russia over gas prices and membership of Moscow-backed regional groups, seeking support from the Soviet-era ruler before an October parliamentary election.
Ukraine is heavily dependent on Russian gas while about 70 percent of Russia's gas exports to Europe go viaUkraine.
Kiev has tried for years to renegotiate a deal struck in January 2009 after Ukraine's squabbling with Moscow left several European countries without gas for almost three weeks when Russia halted exports via Ukraine.
Yanukovich, whose party faces an election in late October, met Vladimir Putin in the Russian president's Black Sea residence of Bocharov Ruchei.
This was second such meeting in just over six weeks, and despite the fact that the encounter again failed to produce any solid results, the Ukrainian leader said his country may change its stance in gas talks. He gave no further details.
"The issue (of gas supplies from Russia) will never be excluded from our relations and will always remain sensitive," he said. "We would like to slightly alter our positions in our relations with Russia."
After failing to get a discount from Moscow in prolonged negotiations throughout 2011, Ukraine, which pays more than $400 per 1,000 cubic metres of Russian gas - on a par with Europe - tried to cut the volume of its gas imports, set at maximum of around 50 billion cubic metres (bcm) a year.
The Kremlin has hinted that it may sweeten the gas deal if Ukraine joins a Putin-brokered alliance, including fellow former Soviet states of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Kiev has resisted the idea of jointly building Putin's vision of a Eurasian Union, but Yanukovich told the Russian president that Ukraine is willing to participate in another Moscow-backed entity, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
"We would like to become observers in this organisation so that we would be able to take part in integration processes on this territory," Yanukovich said.
Yanukovich's Party of the Regions hopes to get a renewed majority at Oct. 28 elections despite signs of flagging support in parts of the country's industrialised east and south, with high gas prices paid by consumers traditionally seen as a major shortcoming of the Ukrainian leadership.
Supporting Putin, who is popular among the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine, was crucial for Yanukovich in his victory in 2010 presidential election, when he trounced the leader of the 2004-2005 Orange RevolutionYulia Tymoshenko.
Tymoshenko was jailed last year for abuse of office relating to the J anuary 2009 gas agreement.
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Representatives of Udar and Svoboda parties not included in constituency commissions
Aug. 25, 2012, 2:31 p.m. | Politics — by Interfax-Ukraine
Gee ?
Putin's Interfax "press release" forgot to mention the details of the parties that will be on the election commissions throughout Ukraine !
"Ukraine - Russia only" - "Україна – Русь єдина",
In the formation of DEC 221 participating representatives of "Russian unity" in 223 - "Ruses bloc" in the 219 -
У формуванні 221 ОВК братимуть участь представники партії "Руська єдність", у 223 – "Руський блок", у 219 –
http://tsn.ua/vybory_2012/lyudey-klichka-i-tyagniboka-v-okruzhnih-viborchih-komisiyah-ne-bude.html
!
PS
Gee ?
Anti-Ukrainians are are placed on Election commissions throughout Ukraine, but Ukrainian Patriots are not allowed ? ?
http://www.kyivpost.com/content/politics/representatives-of-udar-and-svoboda-parties-not-included-in-constituency-commissions-312041.html
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PPS
Gee ?
I wonder if they speak Ukrainian ?
!
PPPS
Pathetic ! !
Unlike the orange mafia morons who ruined Ukraine, the ONLY democratically elected president in the Ukraine history - mr Yanukovych knows well the importance of the good Ukraine - Russia relationships.
Ukraine remembers well enough what happened to the Ukraine economy when the orange moron Yushchenko under control of his CIA operative wife confronted Russia ->
"Ukraine was hit heavily by the late-2000s recession, the World Bank expects Ukraine's economy to shrink 15% in 2009[1] with inflation being 16.4%.[2]
The deficit of Ukraine's foreign trade in goods and services January through September 2009 was estimated at $1.08 billion, which was 9.5 times down on the same period in 2008, export of goods over the period decreased by 48.7%, to $27.478 billion, while imports fell by 53.5%, to $31.570 billion; export of services dropped by 23.2%, to $6.841 billion, while imports were down by 19.9%, to $3.829 billion (the deficit of Ukraine's foreign trade over the first nine months of 2008 was estimated at $10.284 billion, which was 2.7 times up on the same period of 2007).[3]
Analysts say the reasons for the crises are slumping steel prices (due to loss of the principal Russia market for the Ukraine steel), and a the cutting of Russian gas supply of January 2009.[11][12] This made key industries such as metallurgy and machine building lay off workers, and real wages started to fall for the first time in a decade."
"Ukraine is heavily dependent on Russian gas while about 70 percent of Russia's gas exports to Europe go viaUkraine."
Correction, the dilapidate Ukraine GTS is getting increasingly irrelevant as NORD STREAM and YAMAL pipelines deliver over 45% of the Russia natural gas to the EU. And soon the Russia - EU gas trade will have to be revised as Russia reorients its energy delivery to the ASIA superpower both to diversify its markets and disconnect itself from the financial slump in the BROKE & SINKING west.
NORD STREAM and YAMAL deliver Russia gas to the REAL Europe and most important to Germany - the only country in Europe which stands tall amongst the rest EU losers, because of its stable relationships with the #1 energy supplier in the World - Russia.