President Vladimir Putin announced at a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart in Moscow that Russia will sell gas to Ukraine’s Naftogaz energy company for $268.5 per 1,000 cubic meters, well below the current level of more than $400. Putin said, however, the price may only be lowered temporarily.
“We believe this is a temporary decision, by which it is mean that long-term agreements should and will be signed. This concerns both supplies to Ukraine and securing uninterrupted transit to our consumers in Europe,” Putin said after the meeting.
Russia will also dip into its national wealth fund to buy $15 billion in Ukrainian eurobonds, Putin said. That will provide desperately needed liquidity for Ukraine, which is currently facing a looming balance of payments crisis.
“These will be eurobonds, part of them this year, another next year. The smallest part, naturally, this year,” Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said.
At the start of a meeting between the Russian leader and Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukoyvch, Putin said he hoped Tuesday to reach a breakthrough in sensitive issues for both sides, and described Ukraine as Russia’s strategic partner.
Putin lamented that bilateral trade had dropped by 14.5 percent over the past two years and said firm action was needed to restore the health of economic ties.
The deals reached Tuesday mark a vital restoration of ties between Ukraine and Russia, which have been by strained by Kiev’s previously stated intention to seek a closer economic relationship with the European Union.
Even though Putin has regularly insisted that no pressure was being applied to Ukraine, Kremlin officials have openly threatened Ukraine in the past that any EU trade deal would preface trade embargoes.
Earlier this year, Russia cited hygiene concerns when it slapped an import ban on the products of a major Ukrainian major candy maker that provides work for thousands of people.
Russia’s state-run energy giant Gazprom is still owed more than $2 billion for unpaid natural gas and has warned it could in future begin demanding advance payment for the fuel.
But Ukraine stunned Europe last month by announcing that it was giving up pursuit of an association agreement and trade pact with the EU, favoring its ties with the Moscow-led Customs Union trade bloc instead.
Hundreds of thousands emerged onto the streets of Kiev on Sunday in that latest show of mass anger that originally stemmed from that decision.
The unrelenting season of protests has created a climate of political tension as the opposition continues to demand the government’s resignation.
Opposition forces in Ukraine reacted to the news emerging from Moscow with caution and skepticism.
“We need to understand what the Ukrainian president gave Moscow in return for this. I do not believe in altruism from Russia or any other country,” said Sergei Sobolev, deputy head of the leading opposition Batkyvshchina (Fatherland) party, told RIA Novosti.
At Tuesday talks, both sides claimed to have avoided sensitive issues, such as Ukraine possibly joining the Customs Union and the canceled association deal with the European Union.
Putin and Yanukovych did agree to coordinate actions in foreign policy, including the issues of strategic stability and security in Europe, and dealing with new global challenges.
Overall, the leaders signed off on 14 separate agreements on cooperation in areas ranging from aircraft engineering and shipbuilding to defense, trade and space.
Updates with Putin's quote, details, opposition's statement.
http://en.ria.ru/russia/20131217/185656762/Russia-Gives-Ukraine-Cheap-Gas-Multibillion-Dollar-Loan.html
17/12/13
--
-
Related:
EU suspends work on Ukraine trade agreement. -Tensions continue to rise in Kiev as hundreds of thousands gather for another rally against PM Yanukovich.
EU Officials Controversial About Future of Ukraine Trade Deal...
Russia, Ukraine to sign hefty package of papers after intergov’t session on Dec 17 ....
La Grande-Bretagne espère que l'Ukraine finira par signer un accord d'association avec l'Union européenne, a indiqué le chef de la diplomatie britannique William Hague dans un article publié lundi dans les pages du Daily Telegraph.....
GR
FR
DE
ES
IT
RU
EU
US Says Russia-Ukraine Deal Sidesteps Protesters Concerns...
ReplyDeleteWASHINGTON, December 17 (RIA Novosti) – The United States said Tuesday that Russia’s multibillion-dollar lifeline to Kiev does not address the concerns of legions of Ukrainians who have taken to the streets to protest their government’s decision to halt expected trade deals with the European Union.
“Any agreements concluded between Kiev and Moscow will not address the concerns of those who have gathered in public protest across Ukraine,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters, The Associated Press reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Viktor Yanukovych, announced a deal Tuesday under which Moscow will sharply lower natural gas prices for Kiev and dip into its national wealth fund to buy $15 billion in Ukrainian eurobonds.
Ukraine has been hit with massive ongoing street protests over a decision by Yanokovych’s government last month to spurn an association agreement and trade deals with the EU in favor of closer cooperation with neighboring Russia.
US and European officials have expressed vocal support for the protesters, a position Carney reiterated after the announcement of Tuesday’s deal.
“We urge the Ukrainian government to listen to its people and to find a way to restore a path to the peaceful, just, democratic and economically prosperous European future to which Ukrainian citizens aspire,” the AP quoted Carney as saying.
Russia has repeatedly criticized what it describes as outside interference in the tense standoff between Ukrainian authorities and protesters.
Western officials, meanwhile, have accused Moscow of bullying Ukraine on trade issues in order to dissuade Kiev from greater integration with the EU.
In a show of support for the Ukrainian opposition, US Senator John McCain – a relentless critic of Putin – arrived in Kiev over the weekend and told a crowd of anti-government demonstrators in central Kiev that “the destiny you seek lies in Europe.”
http://en.ria.ru/world/20131218/185664023/US-Says-Russia-Ukraine-Deal-Sidesteps-Protesters-Concerns.html
18/12/13
Ukraine spart jährlich sieben Milliarden Dollar durch russischen Gasrabatt ein...
ReplyDeleteDurch den Rabatt für russisches Gas wird die Ukraine ab 2014 mehr als sieben Milliarden US-Dollar jährlich einsparen, wie der ukrainische Energieminister Eduard Stawizki am Mittwoch mitteilte.
„Im kommenden Jahr wird der Bedarf der ukrainischen Wirtschaft an Gaskäufen im Ausland bei 30 bis 33 Milliarden Kubikmeter liegen“, so Stawizki. „Multipliziert man diese Zahl mit 240 Dollar, so sehen sie, dass mindestens sieben Milliarden Dollar für die Wirtschaft bzw. für den Staatshaushalt eingespart werden“. Somit bekomme die Wirtschaft derUkraine zusätzlich sieben Milliarden Dollar jährlich.
Im April 2010 hatte Russland der Ukraine einen Preisnachlass von 100 Dollar je 1000 Kubikmeter Gas gewährt. Am Dienstag wurde der Gaspreis von 400 Dollar auf 268,5 Dollar pro 1000 Kubikmeter gesenkt. Somit beträgt der Rabatt insgesamt rund 240 Dollar je 1000 Kubikmeter Erdgas.
http://de.ria.ru/business/20131218/267499931.html
18/12/13
Ukraine: Ianoukovitch, accusé d'avoir bradé son pays, se justifie...
ReplyDeleteLe président ukrainien, Viktor Ianoukovitch, soutenu par son homologue russe Vladimir Poutine qui dit avoir agi en "peuple frère", fait face jeudi à l'accusation d'avoir bradé la souveraineté du pays en signant pour un prêt de 15 milliards avec Moscou.
"Nous disons souvent que c'est un peuple frère, un pays frère, alors nous devons agir comme des parents proches et soutenir le peuple ukrainien qui est dans une situation difficile", a déclaré M. Poutine à Moscou, s'exprimant avant la conférence de presse du président ukrainien à 10H00 GMT qui doit s'expliquer sur les accords conclus.
Les opposants, qui occupent depuis près d'un mois le centre de Kiev et ont mobilisé des centaines de milliers de manifestants, l'ont d'ores et déjà accusé d'avoir "mis l'Ukraine en gage" pour obtenir l'argent de Moscou. La Russie est de son côté accusée d'avoir fait pression sur l'Ukraine pour l'empêcher de conclure en novembre un accord d'association avec l'Union européenne.
M. Poutine s'en est défendu jeudi. "Personne n'a jamais essayé d'étouffer son voisin", a-t-il déclaré, affirmant que la Russie n'avait "rien contre cet accord d'association" avec l'UE.
Des affirmations qui risquent cependant de ne pas convaincre l'opposition ukrainienne.
"Ianoukovitch a remis l'Ukraine sous contrôle politique, militaire, énergétique, économique et financier de la Russie", a lancé mercredi soir Ioulia Timochenko, ex-Premier ministre ukrainienne et adversaire politique du président Viktor Ianoukovitch, emprisonnée depuis 2011 pour abus de pouvoir.
M. Ianoukovitch fait face à un mouvement de contestation sans précédent depuis près d'un mois après son refus fin novembre de signer l'accord d'association avec l'Union européenne pour renforcer la coopération économique avec la Russie.
Manifestants et leaders de l'opposition s'interrogent depuis les accords conclus à Moscou mardi sur ce que M. Ianoukovitch a promis en échange.
Selon ce qui a été annoncé, la Russie accorde 15 milliards de dollars à l'Ukraine en achetant des obligations ukrainiennes, abaisse d'un tiers le prix du gaz qu'elle lui livre, au niveau préférentiel réservé à certains pays de l'ex-URSS, et lève les obstacles au commerce imposés ces derniers mois.
Face à cette nouvelle donne, les dirigeants de l'UE qui se retrouvent jeudi en sommet devraient adresser un message de soutien au peuple ukrainien, et répéter qu'ils sont toujours prêts à signer l'accord.
"Je regrette la décision du président Ianoukovitch de ne pas signer, ou du moins de ne pas signer pour le moment", l'accord d'association entre l'Ukraine et l'UE, mais "l'offre reste sur la table", a déclaré mercredi la chancelière allemande Angela Merkel dans un discours devant les députés allemands........http://www.rtbf.be/info/monde/detail_ukraine-ianoukovitch-accuse-d-avoir-brade-son-pays-se-justifie?id=8161127
19/12/13
Putin says that the decision to render aid to Ukraine was dictated by that fact that the brotherly country was in a difficult financial and political situation ...
ReplyDeleteThe decision to provide assistance to Ukraine was taken by Russia because of a real understanding of the complex state of the Ukrainian economy.
Ukraine is a brotherly country and Russia had to support it in this situation, declared Russian President Vladimir Putin during a big press conference for Russian and foreign media. He also called the decision to grant a loan to Ukraine and to reduce gas prices as pragmatic, with the aim of helping its major partner. The President stressed that Russia is not against the Association of Ukraine with the EU, but it will protect its market, in case of failure of Kiev in the improvement of relations with the CIS countries in favor of Europe.
Read more: http://indian.ruvr.ru/news/2013_12_19/Putin-says-that-the-decision-to-render-aid-to-Ukraine-was-dictated-by-that-fact-that-the-brotherly-country-was-in-a-difficult-financial-and-political-situation-1920/
19/12/13
Putin: Russia not against Ukraine’s European integration....
ReplyDeleteMOSCOW, December 19. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia does not come against Ukraine’s European integration, but it will protect its market, President Vladimir Putin told a “grand” news conference on Thursday.
“We’re not against Ukraine’s European integration. We say we’re forced to protect our economy because we can’t ‘keep the doors open’ within the free trade zone with Ukraine,” Putin said.
“If Ukraine opens the doors towards the European Union, we’re forced to cover them,” the president said, adding that Ukraine’s machine-building products would decline because they were mainly realized at the Russian market.
http://en.itar-tass.com/russia/712086
19/12/13
Ukraine : la mobilisation proeuropéenne s’essouffle...
ReplyDeleteLa mobilisation proeuropéenne était nettement en baisse, dimanche 22 décembre, à Kiev. Environ 40 000 personnes se sont rassemblées place de l'Indépendance, dans le centre de la capitale, pour une nouvelle grande manifestation après le rapprochement spectaculaire du gouvernement ukrainien avec Moscou cette semaine. Des centaines de milliers de personnes avaient manifesté les trois dimanches précédents après la volte-face du gouvernement ukrainien sur le rapprochement avec l'Union européenne.............http://www.lemonde.fr/europe/article/2013/12/22/ukraine-la-mobilisation-proeuropeenne-s-essouffle_4338730_3214.html#xtor=RSS-3208
22/12/13
Russia closes $3 billion Eurobond deal for Ukraine...
ReplyDelete(Reuters) - Russia closed a deal on Friday to buy Ukraine's newly-issued $3 billion Eurobond, part of a $15 billion bailout of its smaller neighbor, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said.
Russia offered a lifeline to Ukraine last week, helping revive the country's economy and keep it within Moscow's orbit.
Moscow is tapping its National Welfare Fund, a rainy day reserve, to buy $15 billion worth of Ukrainian Eurobonds. It is also offering Kiev relief on the price of gas exports.
"The deal was closed on Friday," Siluanov told journalists on Monday, referring to the $3 billion bond. He added that another tranche of help will be set next year.
The non-tradable Eurobond matures in two years and has a coupon of 5 percent.
Kiev needs cash to cover its external funding gap, while the central bank's currency reserves are depleted by efforts to support the hryvnia and repay foreign debt.
The government owes around $8 billion in foreign debt payments next year. The amount due for gas imports, another part of its external obligations, is now unclear.
Ukraine paid out $1 billion per month in 2013 for gas imports, although the sum may change next year depending on the volume required. Russia slashed the price Ukraine pays for gas deliveries by about one-third.
The National Welfare Fund is intended to cover pension fund imbalances, which amounts to 4.2 percent of gross domestic product.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly, writing by Maya Nikolaeva, Additional reporting by Natalia Zinets, editing by Megan Davies and Toby Chopra)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/23/us-russia-ukraine-bond-idUSBRE9BM0A120131223?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
23/12/13
Ukrainian police blocks roads to President Yanukovich’s residence outside Kiev...
ReplyDeleteKIEV, December 29, 17:35 /ITAR-TASS/. More than ten police buses and about 100 policemen have cordoned off Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich’s residence Mezhigorye in the settlement of Novye Petrovtsy outside Kiev, the national television Channel 5 reported on Sunday.
According to earlier reports, several hundreds of protesters, who were heading to the presidential residence, broke through traffic police cordons at the entryway to the settlement. Now they have reached another police cordon blocking the road. Now the site is a venue of a rally. Among its participants are lawmakers with opposition parties. The protesters are waiting for a motorcade with more people and leaders of the opposition.
Earlier on Sunday, a motorcade of 200 cars started from Kiev’s central European Square to picket the residences of President Viktor Yanukovich, Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov and speaker of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) Vladimir Rybak.
http://en.itar-tass.com/world/713364
29/12/13
Tens of thousands protest in Ukraine's Kiev...
ReplyDeleteKIEV ( Ukraine): Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters have gathered on the central square of Ukraine's capital, maintaining more than a month of rallies protesting the government's decision to shelve a key deal with the European Union.
The turnout at Sunday's protest was markedly lower compared to some of the earlier rallies, which attracted hundreds of thousands.
The demonstrations were sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's decision last month to spike the EU deal in favor of closer ties with Russia. The move angered many Ukrainians, who hoped that closer ties with the EU would help end centuries of Russia's domination.
The protests were galvanized by a brutal police crackdown on Nov. 30, but Yanukovych's government has since limited the use of force in an apparent hope that protests will fizzle out.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Tens-of-thousands-protest-in-Ukraines-Kiev/articleshow/28108647.cms
29/12/13
KIEV: About 20,000 people protested in Ukraine's capital on Sunday, maintaining more than a month of rallies opposing the government's decision to shelve a key deal with the European Union.....
ReplyDeleteBut the turnout on a clear, cold day was markedly lower than at previous rallies, which had attracted hundreds of thousands of people.
As it has before, Sunday's rally opened with speeches by the country's spiritual leaders, including Christian priests, a rabbi and a mufti who called for a national unity and stressed the protesters' right to have the government they want.
Oleh Tyahnybok, head of the opposition national party Svoboda notorious for his racist rhetoric, emphasized that Ukrainians in the west and the east should unite to fight for their rights.
"We are all Ukrainians and want our fair demands to be met," he said in his speech.
Most demonstrators in Kiev come from western and central regions, while many people in the mostly Russian-speaking east and the south back closer ties with Moscow.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/International/2013/Dec-29/242578-some-20000-protest-in-ukraines-kiev.ashx#ixzz2oswss2Af
29/12/13
Ukraine Police Say Protesters Harassing Kiev Residents...
ReplyDeleteKIEV, January 1 (RIA Novosti) – Police in the Ukrainian capital said Wednesday that they have received complaints from local residents of harassment by anti-government protesters gathered in the city’s central square.
Protesters have for more than a month been camped out on Kiev’s Independence Square, where they have erected barricades and tents.
The rolling rally has generally been good-natured, despite some early clashes with police, but officials say that residents have complained that they are unable to properly move through the square and the adjoining main city thoroughfare.
“In the last day alone, the Shevchenko district administration has registered 17 cases of illegal behaviour by meeting participants,” police said in a statement.
Police said one complaint was from a volunteer with a charitable foundation who said she was was robbed of her belongings and cash donations while she was in a building overlooking Independence Square that is occupied by opposition groups...........http://en.ria.ru/crime/20140101/186151152/Ukraine-Police-Say-Protesters-Harassing-Kiev-Residents.html
1/1/14
Ukraine’s anti-European turn to have ramifications for partnership with EU - Fule ...
ReplyDeleteThe European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood policy, Štefan Füle, has been shocked by an abrupt turn taken by Ukraine in the direction leading away from to the European path.
He warns that the move might result in certain ramifications for partnership between Kiev and Brussels.
“I’m shocked. I’m deeply disappointed by Ukraine’s anti-European turn. I’m worried to watch how it’s happening to such an important partner of the EU,” he concludes.
Voice of Russia, Interfax
Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/2014_01_17/Ukraine-s-anti-European-turn-to-have-ramifications-for-partnership-with-EU-Fule-5226/
17/1/14
Russia committed to second aid tranche to Ukraine - minister....
ReplyDeleteRussia will stick to its pledge to give Ukraine a second tranche of a $15-billion loan, but has not yet allocated the sum as it waits for repayment of a $2.7 billion gas debt, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Saturday.
"We will fulfil what we have promised to Ukraine, but we would like the Ukrainian side to comply with the obligations that it has committed to," Siluanov told reporters.
He explained he was referring to a restructured debt with the payment deadline of January 25.
He said Russia had assured Ukraine it would provide the latter with what it had promised to, but that "we would like the commitments that have been made on the Ukrainian side to be met without delay too."
"We didn't link our tranches to the fulfillment of the commitments concerning payments for gas [under an agreement] between Naftogaz and Gazprom [MOEX: GAZP], but, nevertheless, they are state organizations, and naturally we always make agreements to meet our commitments both at interstate level and between state companies," Siluanov said.
"Payments for this year, as far as I know, are going according to schedule," he said. Under an agreement of December last year, Russia pledged to slash its gas price for Ukraine and lend it $15 billion..................http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_02_08/Russia-committed-to-second-aid-tranche-to-Ukraine-minister-2653/
8/2/14
Russia to make next Ukraine loan payment this month - report....
ReplyDeleteRussia will release the next instalment of its $15-billion loan to Ukraine at the end of the month, a newspaper close to President Viktor Yanukovych said Monday, following talks between Ukraine's leader and his Russian counterpart.
The bailout was promised to Ukraine in December after Yanukovych rejected an EU trade and political pact in favour of closer ties with Russia, a move that triggered widespread protests and led to the resignation of the prime minister................http://voiceofrussia.com/2014_02_10/Russia-to-make-next-Ukraine-loan-payment-this-month-report-1380/
10/2/14
Moscou gèle sa deuxième tranche d'aide à l'Ukraine...
ReplyDeleteLe gouvernement russe a gelé le versement de sa deuxième tranche d’aide à l’Ukraine, soit 2 milliards de dollars, car cette dernière n’a toujours pas remboursé sa dette de 2,7 milliards de dollars sur ses paiements gaziers, écrit lundi le quotidien RBC Daily.
"Nous attendons que l'Ukraine tienne ses engagements et paie sa facture de gaz. Il s'agit d'une somme très importante. Le versement était attendu en janvier mais il n'a toujours pas été effectué. Nous souhaitons que chaque partie remplisse ses engagements", a déclaré le ministre russe des Finances Anton Silouanov à Sotchi.
"Le versement de fonds d’aide à l'Ukraine n'est pas directement lié à la dette de Naftogaz, mais comme il s'agit d'une compagnie publique elle doit tenir les engagements de l'Etat", a déclaré le ministre. Selon lui, les paiements pour janvier 2014 se déroulent dans les délais prévus.
Selon Anton Silouanov, les autorités russes ignorent aujourd’hui qui contacter en Ukraine après que le gouvernement ukrainien, sous l'égide du premier ministre Nikolaï Azarov, a été dissous le 28 janvier................http://fr.ria.ru/presse_russe/20140210/200433277.html
10/2/14