Flashback: Moscow buys sea power with Ukraine gas deal

Moscow buys sea power with Ukraine gas deal - Times Online

From The Times

April 22, 2010

Moscow buys sea power with Ukraine gas deal

Tony Halpin, Moscow

Russia achieved an important strategic ambition yesterday by striking a deal to keep its Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine until the middle of this century.
President Medvedev said that the fleet would remain at its port in Sevastopol for 25 years after its present lease expires in 2017, following talks with Viktor Yanukovych, his Ukrainian counterpart. The agreement allows a further five-year extension to 2047.
In return, Ukraine will receive a 30 per cent discount on the price of gas imported from Russia. President Yanukovych said that the concession amounted to $40 billion (£26 billion) in Russian aid over the next decade.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Says Eastern Partnership 'Absolutely A Success'

EU Enlargement Commissioner Says Eastern Partnership 'Absolutely A Success' - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty © 2010

 Eastern Partnership: Eyes On Ukraine

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele

May 14, 2010

By Jan Maksymiuk

There are concerns the European Union's market crisis will dramatically scale back its ambitions for outreach programs with its neighbors -- including its Eastern Partnership.

The initiative was launched with fanfare just over a year ago to help bring six post-Soviet countries -- Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, and Belarus -- closer to the EU fold.

On the partnership's first anniversary on May 7, in fact, the EU kept celebrations muted -- to the point of silence. But Stefan Fuele, the EU's commissioner for enlargement and neighborhood policy, this week said the Eastern Partnership is alive and well.
"It has been absolutely a success," Fuele said. "If you take into account that it's been in existence only one year, and if you look at the relationship between the European Union and the six countries, you see that many of them are already using the potential of that Eastern Partnership."

Flashback: Can the West Trust Ukraine's New President?

Can the West Trust Ukraine's New President? - By Damon Wilson | Foreign Policy

From Ukraine With Baggage

BY DAMON WILSON | APRIL 16, 2010

U.S. President Barack Obama got his first look this week at Ukraine's new president, Viktor Yanukovych. As the Moscow-backed candidate who "won" the 2004 presidential election only to be defeated in the Orange Revolution, Yanukovych has some work to do on his image in the West, where many still see him as a tool of the Kremlin. His first visit to Washington as president underscored his commitment to actions rather than words and drew a contrast with his predecessor, a leader known for vision but incapable of governance.
Thanks to the White House's decision to grant Yanukovych a coveted bilateral meeting on the margins of the Nuclear Security Summit, the two leaders concluded a landmark deal committing Ukraine to get rid of all its stocks of highly enriched uranium in the next two years. They also recommitted themselves to the U.S.-Ukraine Charter on Strategic Partnership. Their two predecessors -- who were both highly committed to advancing Ukraine's NATO ambitions -- negotiated the charter as a substitute after other allies balked at granting Ukraine a path to the alliance known as the "membership action plan." By reaffirming the charter, Obama and Yanukovych have made it their own.

EPP President: Democratic achievements of Yulia Tymoshenko’s government being destroyed by Yanukovych

EPP President: Democratic achievements of Yulia Tymoshenko’s government being destroyed by Yanukovych - Yulia Tymoshenko. Official Website.

EPP President: I am very concerned about the developments in Ukraine

The President of the European People's Party (EPP) Wilfried Martens made the following statement about the current political situation in Ukraine:

"I am very concerned about the developments in Ukrainian politics after the recent Presidential elections. These negative developments have become systematic in nature and are threatening the rule of law and fundamental human rights and civil liberties.
   First, an unconstitutional majority and a new coalition were established in the Ukrainian Parliament, and as the result the government, which lacks legitimacy was formed.
    Second, there are increasing violations of the freedom of press and the revival of censorship resulting in strong criticism from a number of respectable international media organizations including "Reporters without Frontiers" and "International Freedom of Expression Exchange".

Russia Poised To Leapfrog Ukraine, Moldova In EU Visa Drive - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty © 2010

Russia Poised To Leapfrog Ukraine, Moldova In EU Visa Drive

Serbia, Croatia, and Macedonia late last year became the first countries to complete an EU road map and thus their citizens can travel through the Schengen zone without visas.

May 14, 2010

By Ahto Lobjakas

BRUSSELS -- Russia is putting pressure on the European Union to turn the next top-level meeting between the two -- the Rostov-na-Donu gathering on May 31 -- into a "visa summit."

Officials in Brussels say the EU and Russia will jointly sign a document at Rostov-na-Donu outlining "common steps" toward visa liberalization. This would represent a significant advance for Russia in its decade-long drive toward visa-free travel in the EU. At the same time, it would hand Russia a psychological and political victory over countries like Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia, who have long awaited visa liberalization and have offered political reforms to get it.

Ukraine Prosecutors Reopen Tymoshenko Criminal Probe - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty © 2010

Ukraine Prosecutors Reopen Tymoshenko Criminal Probe

Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko says the renewed investigation reflects new "political repression."

Last updated (GMT/UTC): 12.05.2010 14:00

By RFE/RL

Prosecutors in Ukraine have announced they have reopened a 6-year-old corruption investigation into former prime minister and current opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.

According to a statement released by the prosecutor's office, Tymoshenko was summoned today and formally told that a May 2004 case, in which she was accused of bribing Supreme Court justices, had been reopened.

The move, which is likely to inflame political passions in Ukraine, comes just months after the pro-Western Tymoshenko lost a bitter election fight to President Viktor Yanukovych, who was favored by the Kremlin.

Polarising Politics in Ukraine | EurActiv

Polarising Politics in Ukraine

Published: 03 May 2010 | Updated: 05 May 2010

Viktor Yanukovych "needs to act like a unifying leader, not a divisive one," writes David Kramer, a senior transatlantic fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, in an April paper.

The following commentary was prepared by David Kramer.
"The agreement signed last week between Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev in which Ukraine will receive cheaper gas in exchange for extending Russia's Black Sea Fleet presence in Crimea until at least 2042 has set off a firestorm of criticism. The rapid ratification of the agreement within five days of its signing by the Ukrainian parliament (known as the Verkhovna Rada and in which Yanukovych's coalition has a majority) will only stoke the opposition.
For a deal of such consequence and implications, it was irresponsible of the Rada to have taken up the issue so quickly, without proper review, especially given the agreement's lack of transparency.

Russia’s Strategic Gains at Ukraine’s and Europe’s Expense

Russia’s Strategic Gains at Ukraine’s and Europe’s Expense - The Jamestown Foundation

Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 7 Issue: 81

April 27, 2010 06:57 PM Age: 16 days

Category: Eurasia Daily Monitor, Military/Security, Russia, Ukraine

By: Stephen Blank

Russia’s new deal with Ukraine on the Black Sea Fleet (BSF) and gas prices has profound bilateral significance, as well as for the CIS and even Europe. It ratifies long-term Russian gains at the expense of all the other players and continues to solidify Moscow’s claim to possess a sphere of influence in the former Soviet Union. Ukraine had sought to obtain reduced gas prices to cope with its deep economic crisis. It had three alternatives: the first, which it pursued, was to offer Moscow a share in a consortium alongside Ukraine and the EU, to manage the reorganization of the Ukrainian gas distribution network. Moscow turned this down, not wanting to be part of a consortium in regard to reforming the Ukrainian gas network, because it would not have a controlling share and, equally importantly, opportunities for corruption in the current status quo constitute the foundation of much of Russia’s gas wealth and leverage upon Ukraine and other East European states. If there is to be a consortium, Moscow wants it to be one that it controls.

BBC Ukrainian - Українська - Янукович: Україна готова, якщо Європа готова

Янукович: Україна готова, якщо Європа готова

Президент Янукович в інтерв'ю Бі-Бі-Сі заперечив, що Україна заглибилася в сферу політики Росії, заявивши, що "Україна просуватиметься у сферу українських інтересів", але "там, де буде цікаво, з точки зору економіки, з точки зору розвитку країни", Київ готовий у майбутньому об’єднуватися з Росією. Проте Віктор Янукович сказав, що об'єднання російського "Газпрому" та українського "Нафтогазу" малоймовірне.

Пан Янукович сказав, що "Україна готова до інтеграції в Європу настільки, наскільки Європа готова до цього".
З Віктором Януковичем розмовляв кореспондент Бі-Бі-Сі Річард Ґалпін.

President Yanukovic's Dubious Deal

Issue n. 59 of the CEPS European Neighbourhood Watch

By Michael Emerson

The newly, democratically elected President Yanukovich of Ukraine has got off to a spectacularly fast but equally dubious start. First on his diplomacy. His first supposedly symbolic act of foreign policy was to fly to Brussels first, before to Moscow, as if to demonstrate his European credentials. But after seeing what he did in Moscow a few days later, this day trip to Brussels now looks a very hollow gesture.

In Moscow he made a two-part deal, in which the headlines are an extension of the lease of the Russian Black Sea fleet at Sevastopol for 25 to 30 years, and a 10 year discount off the price of gas. As the Russian President has said, these two elements are intimately interconnected.

End of Ukraine and future of Eurasia?

Kyiv Post. Independence. Community. Trust - Opinion - OP-ED - End of Ukraine and future of Eurasia

May 07 at 15:59 | Alexander J. Motyl

For the first time in 20 years, Ukraine’s disappearance as a state is imaginable. Since Ukraine is a pivotal state of great geopolitical significance to the stability of both Europe and Asia, its collapse could have considerable geopolitical consequences.

If Ukraine fails as a state, future historians will place the blame on four factors:

· NATO enlargement up to Ukraine’s western border. Expanding the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to include East Central Europe and the Baltic states effectively placed Ukraine in a strategically untenable no-man’s land between a united West and an increasingly hostile Russia.
· President Viktor Yushchenko’s catastrophic mismanagement of the country in 2005-2009. Yushchenko neglected the economy, permitted corruption to flourish, demoralized the population, polarized the country, and destroyed the unity of pro-Western Ukrainian elites.

Юлія Тимошенко: кримінальні справи не зупинять мене на шляху захисту України - Юлія Тимошенко. Офіційний сайт.

12 Тра 2010, 10:12

Юлія Тимошенко: кримінальні справи не зупинять мене на шляху захисту України

Юлія Тимошенко заявляє, що Президент Віктор Янукович дав доручення керівництву Генеральної прокуратури знайти будь-які підстави для того, щоб протягом 3-4 місяців ув’язнити її.

"У Генеральній прокуратурі зараз в усіх кабінетах говорять про те, що Янукович дав персональне доручення керівництву Генеральної прокуратури знайти будь-які підстави, немає значення, які, але протягом трьох-чотирьох місяців посадити мене до в’язниці", - сказала Юлія Тимошенко перед будівлею Головного слідчого управління ГПУ в Києві.

За словами Юлії Тимошенко, це доручення дано саме Президентом. "Персонально Янукович відслідковує, як іде процес, персонально Януковичу керівництво Генеральної прокуратури звітує про свої досягнення", - сказала вона.

Юлія Тимошенко повідомила, що сьогодні її запросили "у зв’язку з проведенням Генеральною прокуратурою України досудового слідства у кримінальній справі номер 49-1293".

The many ambiguities of Viktor Yanukovych | Policies | Foreign affairs | Neighbourhood | European Voice

EUROPA

The many ambiguities of Viktor Yanukovych

By Toby Vogel

06.05.2010 / 05:10 CET

Whether Ukraine's newly elected president looks east or west, the EU must be coherent in its dealings with its eastern neighbour.

When Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine's opposition leader, beat Yulia Tymoshenko, the then prime minister, to become the country's president on 7 February, foreign analysts and diplomats were agonising about the line he would take. Would he be pro-Russian, or merely less anti-Russian than the incumbent, Viktor Yushchenko, they pondered, and was he an ideologue or a pragmatist? After three months, a nuanced answer is emerging.

Yanukovych made friends in the EU by choosing Brussels, rather than Moscow, for his first official trip – although not all his comments to EU leaders were entirely reassuring.

Video: Putin: ‘I Would Eat Both Yanukovych And…Aaaand…’

Ukrainiana: Putin: ‘I Would Eat Both Yanukovych And…Aaaand…’

Friday, April 30, 201

Last year, a Russian news anchor called President Medvedev “Prime Minister of Russia.” Even more hilariously, he then called PM Putin by his previous job title: “President.”

As if in revenge, during his recent inspection of Kyiv, Putin degraded Yanukovych and even entertained the idea of cannibalizing him.
 
Putin: The price that...uh...that they rolled out at us — to me it was completely off the charts. For this amount of money, I would eat both Yanukovych and...aaaaaand your president combined. But...I really...but the money is just...no military base in the world is worth that much money. There’s no price like that.

Viktor Yanukovych promises Ukraine will embrace Russia | World news | guardian.co.uk

Viktor Yanukovych promises Ukraine will embrace Russia | World news | guardian.co.uk

Viktor Yanukovych promises Ukraine will embrace Russia

New president's inaugural Moscow visit appears to usher in new era between countries

• Luke Harding in Moscow
• guardian.co.uk, Friday 5 March 2010

Viktor Yanukovych, the Ukrainian president, drinks tea with his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, at the Kremlin in Moscow. Photograph: Vladimir Rodionov/Ria Novosti/EPA

The new president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, has promised a dramatic improvement in relations with Russia during his first official visit to Moscow.
Speaking after a meeting with his counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, Yanukovych said he would perform a sharp U-turn on the polices pursued by his predecessor, Viktor Yushchenko, whose pro-west and pro-Nato stance infuriated the Kremlin.

Yanukovych May Ignore Gazprom-Naftogaz Merger Proposal | Business | The Moscow Times

Yanukovych May Ignore Gazprom-Naftogaz Merger Proposal | Business | The Moscow Times

Yanukovych May Ignore Gazprom-Naftogaz Merger Proposal

07 May 2010

Combined Reports

Geert Vanden Wijngaert / AP
Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuri Boiko, left, and Oettinger talking to reporters Thursday after a meeting in Brussels.

Ukraine might not consider a proposal by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to merge Gazprom with Naftogaz Ukrainy, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said Thursday.
"[Putin's offer] was an unexpected step for Ukraine, and it does not mean that this question will be considered by Ukraine and resolved," Yanukovych's press service quoted him as saying.

Ukraine’s Leaders Trying to Resist Gazprom-Naftohaz “Merger” - The Jamestown Foundation

Ukraine’s Leaders Trying to Resist Gazprom-Naftohaz “Merger” - The Jamestown Foundation

Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 7 Issue: 89

May 7, 2010 10:27 AM Age: 5 days

Category: Eurasia Daily Monitor, Vlad’s Corner, Energy, Ukraine, Russia

By: Vladimir Socor

Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin’s, April 30 proposal to “merge” Ukraine’s national energy company Naftohaz with Gazprom (EDM, May 5) has stunned the new Ukrainian authorities. During an entire week after the proposal’s airing President, Viktor Yanukovych, and Prime Minister, Nikolai Azarov, have arrogated to themselves alone the right of reply on the authorities’ behalf, silencing other officials and ignoring the experts. This instinctively authoritarian reaction reflects the new authorities’ attempts to introduce a “pyramid of power” in Ukraine.

Flashback: Ukraine’s Foreign Policy Turns East

April 23, 2010—Volume 7, Issue 79  The Jamestown blog on Russia and Eurasia 
By Taras Kuzio
 

With less than two months in office President, Viktor Yanukovych, has undermined a twenty year-old elite consensus on national security by, as EDM (November 3, 2009) forecast, introducing a far more pro-Russian essence to Ukrainian foreign policy than if Yulia Tymoshenko had been elected (EDM, January 20). Yanukovych –not Tymoshenko– was supported in the elections by Russia (EDM, January 14, 29).

Ukrainian political commentator, Mykola Ryabchuk, warned that the Yanukovych administration would be more authoritarian and pro-Russian than was President Leonid Kuchma in 1994-2004 (www.zgroup.com.ua, April 7). This view of Yanukovych, as a threat to Ukrainian independence and democracy, is quickly gaining ground due to the heavy handed manner in which he has launched his divisive domestic and foreign policies despite being elected by only one third of the population, coming first in 10 out of 27 administrative regions and with less than 50 percent of the vote.

The West has largely remained passive about President Viktor Yanukovych’s infringement of the constitution and turn towards Russia, because it has accepted his claim that he is bringing much needed “stability” to Ukraine after five years of “Orange” instability.

Yanukovych deflates Putin offer of gas merger - Russia Beyond the Headlines - Russian news

Yanukovych deflates Putin offer of gas merger - Russia Beyond the Headlines - Russian news (sponsored by Russian Government)

In recent statements, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych deflated Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's "impromptu" trial balloon to merge Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom and its Ukrainian counterpart Naftogaz while at the same time polishing his pro-EU foreign policy stance, saying that any merger would only be possible after talks with the EU

Yanukovych deflates Putin offer of gas merger

"If we decide to begin talks [about the merger] we should include the EU at a certain stage as the main consumer of gas and the main partner," Yanukovych said, according to The Moscow Times.

Комітет захисту України кличе людей під Раду для "демонстрації" | Українська правда

Комітет захисту України кличе людей під Раду для "демонстрації" | Українська правда

Комітет захисту України кличе людей під Раду для "демонстрації"

Понеділок, 10 травня 2010, 17:27 

Народний комітет захисту України закликає громадян прийти 11 травня о 10.00 на мітинг до Верховної Ради.
"Аби висловитися на підтримку суверенітету, територіальної цілісності та стратегічної власності України", - мотивує у зверненні комітет, повідомляє прес-служба БЮТ.
"Ми свідомі, що один мітинг не змінить загальнополітичної ситуації. Але (від того) скільки буде людей, як ми зможемо згуртовано продемонструвати свою рішучість і послідовність, буде залежати подальша перемога", - наголошується в ньому.
"Усі як один, для кого слова: Україна, честь і гідність, права людини є святими, - мають прийти у цей день під стіни парламенту", - закликають члени комітету.
Як відомо, Народний комітет захисту України було створено у понеділок низкою політичних сил, громадських організацій та діячів.

Все про: акції, мітинг, опозиція

ОПОЗИЦІЙНІ СИЛИ СТВОРИЛИ КОМІТЕТ ЗАХИСТУ УКРАЇНИ | Українська правда

Опозиційні сили створили комітет захисту України

Понеділок, 10 травня 2010, 12:59 Версія для друку Коментарі 115

Представники позапарламентських та парламентських політичних сил створили Комітет захисту України для координації дій у відстоюванні національних інтересів. Відповідний установчий акт вони підписали у понеділок у будинку Спілки письменників України в Києві, повідомляє УНІАН. Зокрема, під цим документом поставили свої підписи 7 керівників та представників парламентських партій - зокрема, Народного руху України, партії "Батьківщина", Європейської партії України, Української соціал-демократичної партії, Партії захисників Вітчизни, партії "Реформи і порядок", "Народної самооборони". З позапарламентських партій ініціативу підтримали ВО "Свобода", Українська партія. Керівники КУН та УНП мають намір у вівторок, 11 травня, поставити під вказаним документом свої підписи.

Ukrainians prepare for Russians bearing gifts - BUSINESS NEW EUROPE

Ukrainians prepare for Russians bearing gifts - BUSINESS NEW EUROPE
Graham Stack in Kyiv
May 10, 2010

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was recently named one of the world's leading persecutors of the press and, true to form, he cruelly upset many journalists' holiday plans when, on the eve of the long May Day weekend, he casually proposed merging Russia and Ukraine's respective nuclear power and gas sectors.

With rumours swirling and speculation rife, the outcome of the ongoing talks between the Russian and Ukrainian governments to deepen and thus improve the two's often-fraught energy relations is still anybody's guess. But some of the proposals made by Russia to Ukraine for tighter energy collaboration could benefit all sides, including Europe, if approached with caution.

Tymoshenko: I want to wake up Ukraine

Kyiv Post. Independence. Community. Trust - Politics - Tymoshenko: I want to wake up Ukraine

Yesterday at 15:15 | Interfax-Ukraine

The BYuT leader Yulia Tymoshenko is convinced that if hundred thousand, not ten thousand people, come to squares, the new Ukrainian power would hear their opinion.

"If ten thousand people come to squares near the presidential administration and Verkhovna Rada, power takes batons, beats these people, humiliates them, puts into jail, breaks up demonstrations and feels masters on earth, which the power destroyed. If there are hundred thousand of people on squares, power is changing before our eyes," he said at a press conference in Vinnytsia on May 7.

The BYuT leader said that in the said case power would hear opinions of the society.

"Our task today is to wake up people so that they understand what they’re loosing personally, what each member of their families, each child are loosing and what they’re loosing for the future," she said.

"I think that today we all should come with a slogan "I don’t trade in Ukraine," as it's impossible to trade in Ukraine so as it's impossible to trade in the dearest thing," she said.

Russia plans to invest heavily in Sevastopol base - ambassador

Russia plans to invest heavily in Sevastopol base - ambassador | Top Russian news and analysis online | 'RIA Novosti' newswire

Russia is planning to focus on the development of social and military infrastructure in the port of Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula, the Russian ambassador to Ukraine said on Sunday.
Russia's lease of the Black Sea Fleet's base in Sevastopol has been extended for 25 years after the current lease expires in 2017 in a deal simultaneously ratified by the Russian and Ukrainian parliaments in April. The lease may be further extended by five years.