Arseniy Yatseniuk, leader of the Front for Change party, former speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, and former foreign minister of Ukraine, demands that the Ukrainian administration publish directives to Ukrainian-Russian energy negotiations and begin multilateral negotiations at an interstate level involving Ukraine, Russia, the EU, and the U.S.
"The Ukrainian gas transport system should not become Gazrpom’s trophy, but part of the EU gas transport system. European buyers should receive gas from Gazprom at the Russian-Ukrainian border and our gas transport operator should sign gas transit contracts with European companies, not with Gazprom," the Front for Change press service quoted Yatseniuk as saying.
Yatseniuk believes the Ukrainian government is going to obtained resources to fight the crisis from selling strategic objects and making concessions in the sphere of national interests.
He says this is indicated by Bill N9429 submitted by the government to the parliament, which, if adopted, will lift the ban on the privatization of the Ukrainian gas transport system.
"They are preparing a barter agreement: Ukraine will get a temporary reduction in the gas price and President Yanukovych will get hopes to stay in power, and Russia will get our strategic resource, the gas transport system. We will have to pay for ephemeral ‘gas discounts’ in the form of a loan by giving our internal gas market and strategic industrial objects to Gazprom, like it happened in Belarus," Yatseniuk said.
"In addition, Ukraine’s refusal to fulfill its obligations as a member of the energy community will automatically prevent its European integration. The government will turn Ukraine away form Europe to Eurasia," the politician said.
"European companies have managed considerable price discounts from Gazprom using solely legal methods without any political and economic concessions from their countries," Yatseniuk said.
The politician also believes Ukraine should reduce the amount of Russian gas it buys, saying the country’s dependence on Russian gas cab be reduced from 65% in 2010 to 25% in 2020 by putting in place energy conservation technologies, developing alternative energy types, building a liquefied gas terminal, and increasing gas extraction in Ukraine.
