Kiev in bid to avoid fuelling pipeline row

Date: 07/12/00

By Simon Taylor

THE EU and Ukraine are trying to play down a potential row over Russian plans to build a pipeline to deliver gas to western Europe which could deprive Kiev of essential fuel supplies.

Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma warned recently against "overreacting" to a Union-backed scheme which would route Russian gas through Poland, diverting energy from Ukraine.

Kuchma had earlier attacked the Russian plans, saying they were intended to "put pressure" on Ukraine. But recently he said he had been assured that the EU and Moscow would continue transporting fuel across Ukraine provided Kiev remained a reliable political partner.

European Commission President Romano Prodi has declared the Union's support for a new pipeline project by Russian gas firm Gazprom as part of a new strategic partnership which would expand the range of EU energy supplies and boost Moscow's export earnings.

But rerouting Russian fuel through Poland would have a devastating effect on Kiev, which relies on its political leverage over the existing pipeline through Ukraine to obtain cheap energy from the Russians.

The Union has been encouraging both Ukraine and Russia to undertake economic and political reforms. At the EU-Russian summit in October the two sides agreed to set up a joint energy strategy group to increase Russian exports to the west over the next 20 years.

But the Union's support for Russia's plan to build a new pipeline have provoked fears in Ukraine that the EU is failing to defend Kiev's position in the face of its neighbour's greater economic and political influence.

Prodi recently tried to reassure Kiev by saying it would be party to any negotiations on the construction plans. But this stance has been met with incredulity in Russian circles.

The EU and Ukraine are trying to play down a potential row over Russian plans to build a pipeline to deliver gas to western Europe which could deprive Kiev of essential fuel supplies.