New Europe: With Yulia, Yanukovych scores own goal
STRASBOURG - The Euro 2012 soccer championship held partly in Ukraine may be five months away but Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has already scored a goal against his own team. By throwing his political opponent Yulia Tymoshenko in jail, Yanukovych has managed to alienate the European Union and play into the hands of Vladimir Putin. But the Russian Prime Minister has refused to reduce the high price Ukraine pays for Russian gas that was agreed between Putin and Tymoshenko in 2009. Backed against the wall, Yanukovych may have to accept Gazprom’s offer to buy Ukraine’s natural-gas pipeline system, which the Russian gas monopoly reportedly values at $4 billion.
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