| Author (Corporate) | Deutsche Welle |
|---|---|
| Series Title | Article |
| Series Details | 02.04.14 |
| Publication Date | 02/04/2014 |
| Content Type | News |
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As the situation on the ground in Crimea slowly disappeared from the news in April 2014, media attention turned to the effects of the crisis in the Ukrainian economy, as both Russia and the West tried to influence the country to adopt different economic paradigms. The energy sector was the first and most visible face of this issue. Ukraine did not pay off any of its debt to Russian gas supplier Gazprom despite a deadline for the nation to start reducing its debt by midnight on the 7 April 2014. Gazprom’s CEO Alexei Miller said that gas reverse flows from EU countries to Ukraine were illegal, defying a Brussels plan to help the country’s pro-European government fight against Russia’s strategy to wreck its economy by increasing gas prices. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico called for talks with Ukraine, Russia and the European Commission to ensure his country gets paid and that it can reverse gas flows to Kyiv without violating existing contracts, while Hungary said it could do so at once. Bratislava and Kiev agreed a deal on the 27 April 2014 that would allow gas from Central Europe to reach Ukraine via Slovakia. EUObserver reported a letter sent on the 10 April 2014 by Russian President Putin to governments of countries in Europe that received supplies of gas through Ukraine that threatened to cut off gas supplies to Ukraine unless it started repaying a huge debt and unless the EU agreed to joint talks on the economic future of Ukraine. Reacting to Mr. Putin's letter, the United States accused Russia of using its energy supplies "as a tool of coercion" to try to control Ukraine. BBC News reported that crude oil prices hadrisen amid continuing tensions in Ukraine and concerns about possible disruptions to Russian gas supplies. Germany's RWE began deliveries of natural gas to Ukraine on the 15 April 2014, marking an initial step in EU efforts to boost supplies to Kiev. |
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| Source Link | http://dw.de/p/1BaQU |
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| Subject Categories | Energy |
| Countries / Regions | Europe, Russia, Ukraine |
