EUobserver / EU monitors give mixed report on Ukraine vote

EUobserver / EU monitors give mixed report on Ukraine vote

EU monitors give mixed report on Ukraine vote

ANDREW RETTMAN

Today @ 09:30 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Voting in Ukrainian local elections on Sunday (31 October) looked fair to the two MEPs who went out to monitor the event. But EU institutions are unhappy about irregularities in the run-up to the poll.
"I have seen a lot of elections in the past as an observer for the OSCE and I saw no serious flaws. But elections are not just about election day. It's about the whole picture," Polish MEP Pawel Kowal from the right-wing Law and Justice party told EUobserver by phone from Kiev on Monday.

Lviv in western Ukraine - Ms Tymoshenko won 86% of the vote in the region in this year's presidential vote. But her party was struck off the list for the regional poll (Photo: EUobserver.com)

Putin to Ukraine: No merger, no gas talks - New Europe

Putin to Ukraine: No merger, no gas talks - New Europe

Putin to Ukraine: No merger, no gas talks

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin did not discuss gas issues with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and Prime Minister Mykola Azarov during his visit to Kiev on 27 October. “Actually, our prime minister (Azarov) made some attempt to raise this (gas) issue, but it was not a success because the idea of Putin is widely known: He wants the merger of (Russian gas monopoly) Gazprom and (Ukraine's energy company) Naftogaz,” a government source in Kiev told New Europe on 28 October on the condition of anonymity. Azarov was quoted as saying by the press on 25 October that he would, during his meeting with Putin, seek a reduction in the price of Russian natural gas sold to Ukraine. Ukrainian energy officials have also called in recent weeks for increases to the transit fee paid by Russia.
Putin mentioned that Russia already made huge concessions to Ukraine regarding the issue of price, the source told New Europe, adding that Russia has clearly stated its conditions. “We tried to persuade them, let’s make a deal, let’s revise the contract conditions, but unfortunately Putin was very firm,” the source added.