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Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin (right) greets Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko during their Feb. 20 meeting in the Novo-Ogaryovo presidential residence outside Moscow. AP The rivalry between President Yushchenko and Prime Minister Tymoshenko spilled into Ukraine’s sensitive natural gas relations with the Russian Federation.

as relations with the Russian Federation.

Not satisfied with the Feb. 12 deal struck between Yushchenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Tymoshenko flew to Moscow on Feb. 21 to eliminate any intermediaries and reach long-term agreements with Gazprom starting in the first quarter for Ukraine’s gas supply.

Putin and Yushchenko agreed to eliminate debt, set up two new intermediaries to replace RosUkrEnergo and UkrGazEnergo, and keep prices at $179.5 per thousand cubic meters.

While she first expressed tacit support for the Feb. 12 agreement, drawing accusations from the Kyiv press corps that she abandoned campaign pledges, Tymoshenko upheld her stalwart position that Ukrainian government officials must negotiate directly with Gazprom.

“Among the reasons Tymoshenko went to Moscow was to show the Russians that she’s the new boss on the block,” said Taras Kuzio, president of Kuzio Associates, an independent consultancy and government communications company based in Washington.

The Russians were not amused.

After spending about three hours negotiating with Putin and five hours with top gas executives, including representatives from RosUkrEnergo and UkrGasEnergo, Tymoshenko flew back to Kyiv without a new compact.

She wasn’t empty-handed, having been slapped with a debt of $1.1 billion and four billion cubic meters of gas, which Yushchenko and former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych were never confronted with.

“There’s no rational explanation for why the news of this debt came out a month after Tymoshenko took power,” said Ivan Lozowy, a Kyiv political insider. “The Kremlim is simply playing power politics by keeping pressure on Tymoshenko and playing nice with Yushchenko.”

Upset by her interference, Yushchenko accused Tymoshenko of sabotage in not paying the debt that was just revealed to her.

The conflict reached its peak on Feb. 26, the eve of a planned meeting between Yushchenko and Tymoshenko, when Gazprom once again threatened to cut Ukraine’s gas supply.

The next morning, Tymoshenko didn’t meet with Yushchenko because of a reported illness, instead sending her right hand man Oleksandr Turchynov with a written report.

After the meeting, Turchynov declared Naftogaz paid back all its debt inherited from the previous governments.

The debt amounted to about $1.1 billion, and was covered by costs and dividends obtained by Naftogaz in 2006 and 2007, he said.

“From this debt is a single figure not recognized by the Ukrainian side — $22.8 million which was deceitfully charged for gas consumed in 2006 at 2007 prices,” Turchynov said at the Cabinet of Ministers meeting.

“And the cheats who tried to rape the Ukrainian state will answer for this," he said.

Yushchenko cited similar numbers that afternoon: Naftogaz was given $440 million to cover debt, in addition to $760 million paid out of an approximate $1.1 billion debt.

Meanwhile, by favoring Yushchenko over Tymoshenko, the Kremlin succeeds in exacerbating the conflict between them.

“The Kremlin blocking her from going to Moscow, criticizing her for not upholding agreements, is all grist in the mill of the Yushchenko team to keep Tymoshenko down,” Lozowy said.

The leader who succeeds in gas negotiations with Russia will gain the most influence in determining relations between the two nations, experts said.