In the recent BBC interview with President Vladimir Putin, the issue of Russia demanding that Ukraine pay a fair amount for Russia’s supply of gas was brought up. The Ukrainians have been complaining that Russia was exerting political pressure on them and blackmailing them by demanding a rise in gas prices which led to Russia shutting down deliveries of gas to Ukraine earlier this year.
The Capitalist Infidel would like to point out that Russia is demanding fair pricing for its gas which it has been supplying to Ukraine at highly subsidised prices for the past 15 years. It is Ukraine which has been blackmailing Russia by demanding that they keep gas flowing as they would siphon off some of the gas meant for Western Europe if they did not get what they needed. This is due to the fact that gas has to flow through Ukraine to reach Western Europe.
Of course there is reason to suspect political power play behind all this economic talk. This price hike comes as Ukraine is cosying up to the West and slowly departing Russia’s sphere of influence. But is such a price hike unfair? I would think not. Russia is not obliged to maintain the subsidies it gave to a state that was once friendly to it. It was one way traffic, it is ridiculous to bite the hand that fed you just because it refuses to feed you anymore.
The Capitalist Infidel also looks with disgust at the EU member states’ economic practices. As if meddling with the businesses like Arcelor and the Italian banks wasn’t enough. Now they want to bully Russia into giving concessions to Ukraine. It may look like a PR coup when trying to attract members of the former Soviet bloc to join the West but it shows a distinct lack of respect for the sovereignity of an independent country.
If the West is to gain respect in the rest of the world, this is not the way to go. Ukraine must pay a fair price for the gas. The West must not extort the Russians of their gas. Not only will they fail, they will also lose the moral high ground when they demand democracy and fair markets in Russia, or indeed, even the Middle East. This is especially so when they will be paying for the subsidies that Russia gives Ukraine.
If they think that Russia is blackmailing Ukraine with gas, they should counter that by making sure Ukraine pays a fair price. It takes away any pretext that Russia can use in their power play. Anything else would look like blackmail, exactly what they are accusing the Russians of.
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This entry was posted on 11 July, 2006 at 12:09 am and is filed under Commentary. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.
Capitalist Infidel
Russia’s Energy and Ukraine
In the recent BBC interview with President Vladimir Putin, the issue of Russia demanding that Ukraine pay a fair amount for Russia’s supply of gas was brought up. The Ukrainians have been complaining that Russia was exerting political pressure on them and blackmailing them by demanding a rise in gas prices which led to Russia shutting down deliveries of gas to Ukraine earlier this year.
The Capitalist Infidel would like to point out that Russia is demanding fair pricing for its gas which it has been supplying to Ukraine at highly subsidised prices for the past 15 years. It is Ukraine which has been blackmailing Russia by demanding that they keep gas flowing as they would siphon off some of the gas meant for Western Europe if they did not get what they needed. This is due to the fact that gas has to flow through Ukraine to reach Western Europe.
Of course there is reason to suspect political power play behind all this economic talk. This price hike comes as Ukraine is cosying up to the West and slowly departing Russia’s sphere of influence. But is such a price hike unfair? I would think not. Russia is not obliged to maintain the subsidies it gave to a state that was once friendly to it. It was one way traffic, it is ridiculous to bite the hand that fed you just because it refuses to feed you anymore.
The Capitalist Infidel also looks with disgust at the EU member states’ economic practices. As if meddling with the businesses like Arcelor and the Italian banks wasn’t enough. Now they want to bully Russia into giving concessions to Ukraine. It may look like a PR coup when trying to attract members of the former Soviet bloc to join the West but it shows a distinct lack of respect for the sovereignity of an independent country.
If the West is to gain respect in the rest of the world, this is not the way to go. Ukraine must pay a fair price for the gas. The West must not extort the Russians of their gas. Not only will they fail, they will also lose the moral high ground when they demand democracy and fair markets in Russia, or indeed, even the Middle East. This is especially so when they will be paying for the subsidies that Russia gives Ukraine.
If they think that Russia is blackmailing Ukraine with gas, they should counter that by making sure Ukraine pays a fair price. It takes away any pretext that Russia can use in their power play. Anything else would look like blackmail, exactly what they are accusing the Russians of.
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This entry was posted on 11 July, 2006 at 12:09 am and is filed under Commentary. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.