Russian Newsweek: “European Union Irritated by Russian-Ukrainian Gas Conflict”
Darya Guseva
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin acted tough during the Russian-Ukrainian gas conflict, while an outraged Europe threatened sanctions against Kiev and Moscow.
On Tuesday, journalists gathered at the headquarters of energy giant Gazprom at 1.00 p.m. in the hopes that a corporate manager would talk to them. Later on, everyone was taken to Gazprom's central dispatch-control office. At 5.30 p.m., Prime Minister Putin came out and inquired jokingly whether the journalists wanted to know the way gas was flowing.
One by one, the managers of Western gas companies and observers greeted Putin. Everybody was smiling. The Prime Minister then asked Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller to show on the map how Russia had been trying to pump gas via Ukraine since morning. "Can you see the green arrows? This is our gas. The red arrows show pipelines that still cannot pump our gas," Putin told the audience.
No green arrows appeared in Europe by Friday, causing the European Union to seethe with rage. Russia had been winning the gas war the week before last, as the EU tried to persuade Kiev to allow Gazprom observers to monitor gas transits. Moscow promised to resume gas deliveries once the observers took up their positions at Ukrainian gas-measuring stations.
Although Ukraine agreed to receive Gazprom observers, Europe got no gas and became really angry.
The EU probably realised that it would have problems dealing with Ukraine under the conditions of a political and economic crisis. However, Putin tried to act as a friend and partner of European energy companies while negotiating gas deliveries. At present, Europe sees no difference in the positions of Kiev and Moscow and is convinced that both sides are hindering gas transits.
On Thursday, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso advised customers not receiving Russian gas to sue Ukrainian and Russian energy giants Naftogaz Ukraine and Gazprom. The Public Gas Corporation of Greece (DEPA) now wants to sue Gazprom for $1 billion.
So, why didn't Russian gas flow to Europe? On Tuesday morning, Russia delivered gas to the Ukrainian border. Although Naftogaz Ukraine could have opened the pipeline, Kiev refused to handle Russian gas.
Europe can receive Russian gas through a trunk pipeline or via another pipeline linking Eastern and Western Ukraine. After gas transits were stopped, pressure fell inside the trunk pipeline as Ukrainians pumped all gas from it. The second operational pipeline is used for domestic Ukrainian needs.
Under a gas-transit contract, now considered null and void by Kiev, Russian gas must flow along the trunk pipeline, a cheaper and faster route. Although Gazprom has pumped its gas towards this pipeline, Naftogaz Ukraine must, as before, spend 20 million cubic metres of "technological gas" per day in order to facilitate gas transits to Europe. Both sides became divided on the issue the week before the last, as Naftogaz Ukraine faced the dilemma of spending its own gas from gas s
torages or siphoning off Russian gas earmarked for Europe.
Ukraine eventually refused. "Gazprom wants to register incidents when Ukraine siphons off gas and offers routes where there is no choice but to take away gas," a Naftogaz official told the paper. There was a similar situation on Wednesday when Naftogaz said Russia was deliberately delaying gas transits and offering a technically unacceptable gas-delivery route on Ukrainian territory.
Europe became outraged as a result.
On Wednesday, EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs publicly argued with Gazprom for the first time. Our experts have confirmed that it is difficult and even impossible to use the main Sudzha route, Piebalgs said. If the sides put forward additional terms, this would mean that they are unable to coordinate efforts for resuming gas transits, he stressed.
On Tuesday and Wednesday it became obvious that Moscow wanted to play it tough. Europe expected gas transits to resume and hoped that Naftogaz and Gazprom would then tackle their mutual problems, namely, gas-delivery prices and the future of the gas-transit contract. However, Gazprom's actions showed that Europe will not get any Russian gas, unless Moscow received clear answers from Kiev.
The paper's sources said Kremlin and Government House officials realised that the situation had been aggravated beyond reasonable limits, and that, instead of scoring a political victory over Ukraine's Orange coalition, Moscow risked souring relations with Europe. It appears that such apprehensions were voiced at meetings of various levels.
A source close to the talks said the EU had demanded on Wednesday that all Gazprom-Naftogaz meetings take place in a trilateral format, meaning that Europe no longer trusts both companies. Subsequent trilateral talks would imply that it's high time for grown-ups to intervene and stop a fight between two teenagers.
On Thursday, January 17, President Dmitry Medvedev proposed hosting a gas summit involving heads of state or government of Russia, Ukraine, the EU, and gas-receiving countries in Moscow. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko subsequently proposed holding the summit in Kiev.
Although the Kremlin sent out invitations, European leaders started refusing to come to Moscow one by one. The Czech Republic now presiding in the EU said indignantly that the summit's venue and deadlines had not been coordinated. The French Foreign Ministry said no summit could be held pending resumed gas deliveries.
This resembles efforts to mediate a ceasefire. The summit was officially renamed as a conference, and on Friday, a source close to the talks said the conference was now a mere public-relations act.
Europe preferred to talk about a meeting instead. When this issue was being readied for printing, EU Energy Commissioner Piebalgs and Czech Industry and Trade Minister Martin Riman had agreed to come to Moscow. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, expected to be the main guest, was scheduled to hold direct talks with Vladimir Putin on Saturday.
Last Wednesday, Tymoshenko held negotiations with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Two days later, Putin also flew over to Germany for talks with Merkel. At the same time, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said on behalf of the EU that its patience had run out.
Topolanek hinted that the EU wanted to oversee the Putin-Tymoshenko talks. Johannes Leitenberger, spokesman for EC President Barroso, has already told Kiev and Moscow that relations with Ukraine and Russia would be revised step-by-step, unless the gas crisis was settled in the near future.
