News as of September 23, 2006

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Giving Comments Does Not Help, So Here Are The News

Ukraine Promises Europe Steady Fuel

MOSCOW ≈ Ukraine will ensure the smooth transit of gas to Europe this winter, the nation's prime minister said Friday after talks with his Russian counterpart.

Viktor Yanukovych also said that Ukraine and Russia would agree on a gas price for the final months of the year in the "coming days" and would set a price for 2007 in October.

Ukraine, which receives much of its gas supplies from Russia, agreed to a twofold price increase earlier this year after a bitter dispute with Russia's Gazprom state-controlled natural gas giant.

The Russian company briefly turned off the taps to Ukraine at the height of winter, which also triggered a brief shutdown of supplies to western Europe after Ukraine began siphoning gas passing westward through its pipelines.

Ukraine pays $95 per 1,000 cubic meters _ a price that Yanukovych said Ukraine would seek to keep at least until the new year.

"The question of $95 is of great importance for us, although we clearly understand that this is a difficult issue," Yanukovych said in televised comments following the talks with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov.

Russia strongly supported Yanukovych's fraud-marred bid to win the Ukrainian presidency in 2004, and his return as prime minister was broadly seen as a boost for the Kremlin's interests in Ukraine, as President Viktor Yushchenko tries to move the ex-Soviet nation closer to the West.

The Kremlin said that Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Yanukovych late Thursday.

As part of the deal that resolved last winter's fuel dispute, Ukraine agreed to receive its imported natural gas at a price of $95 per 1,000 cubic meters from an intermediary company, RosUkrEnergo _ a joint venture between Gazprom and a company owned by two Ukrainian businessmen.

However, pressure to increase the price is rising after Turkmenistan hiked the amount Russia pays for the gas it buys and then sells on to Ukraine.

"We would like to be governed by the agreements which we had (before), despite the change in conditions for Turkmen gas," Fradkov was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency.

Yanukovych also said that underground gas storage facilities were in the process of being filled, before the peak winter heating season.

"I am sure that we will perform this task and supply the necessary volumes of gas for Ukrainian consumers," Yanukovych said, according to RIA Novosti.

Gazprom has warned that Ukraine was building up its winter gas supplies too slowly, possibly endangering smooth deliveries to Europe and raising the threat of a repeat gas crisis.

In the midst of last year's freezing temperatures, Ukraine skimmed the extra gas it needed from the export pipeline supplying Europe, meaning some European customers experienced a shortfall.

Separately, Fradkov said that Russian companies were interested in investing in metallurgy, high technology and other industries in Ukraine. He criticized what he called the "delays of the past two years," referring to the period following the 2004 Orange Revolution that helped bring Yushchenko to power, when Russian companies had faced difficulties doing business in Ukraine.

Yanukovych said the two side would seek a "balance of interests" ultimately aimed at creating conditions for free trade between the two countries.

Source

My Pick
Also, Does Ukraine Only Have One Bank?

Ukraine's foreign debt grows 7% in H1

KYIV. Sept 22 (Interfax) - Ukraine's gross foreign debt grew 7% to $41.566 billion in the first half of 2006 from $38.818 billion at the end of 2005, the National Bank of Ukraine said on its website.

Foreign debt in the state sector totaled $11.519 billion as of July 1, including $5.119 billion in securities and $6.4 billion in long-term loans, compared to $12.393 billion at the start of 2006.

The foreign debt of banks grew to $7.913 billion in January-June, including $1.498 billion in securities and $1.705 billion in loans, from $6.217 billion at the beginning of the year.

Source

Tymoshenko still waiting for Our Ukraine

For the moment the Our Ukraine bloc has not given its consent to joining inter-faction opposition, initiator of which is Yulia Tymoshenko.
She noted that the number of Our Ukrainians would enter the opposition, but not in full composition. According to her, in the morning representatives of this political force expressed their wish to join Tymoshenko.

⌠I understood that they are ready to enter the opposition, but, as usual, they need some time for making the decision,■ Tymoshenko said.

According to BYuT leader, deputies of Our Ukraine faction may join opposition unity at the first wish.

Source