The Voice of Russia: Another Ukrainian trick to get cheaper gas

Ukraine continues its efforts, described by the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev as ‘social allowance claiming’, to secure a discount price of Russian natural gas for Ukrainian buyers. There have already been threats to take Russia to international arbitration and reduce the procurement over the coming five years by five times against the amounts stipulated in contracts. In the latest twist, President Yanukovich and Prime Minister Azarov have given their government one month to break up Ukraine’s Naftogaz oil and gas monopoly - ostensibly in order to advance structural reforms and create an array of independent fuel suppliers. In fact, however, the pursuit is a ploy to destroy the entity that bargained with Gazprom and thus make the gas trade agreements with the Russian side null and void.

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