Russia claims to be ready to deal with Ukraine on gas

Макроэкономика 17.10.2014 The Russian government is interested in reaching a consensus with its Ukrainian counterparts on natural gas pricing, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told journalists in Belgrade, the Interfax news agency reported on Oct. 16. Russian President Vladimir Putin also expressed his hope that the gas dispute with Ukraine will be resolved soon. Meetings with EU and Ukrainian top officials at the Europe Asian Meeting (ACEM) in Milan on Oct. 17 might be helpful in finding a solution, according to Putin. EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger told journalists that meetings in Milan might help Ukraine and Russia to agree on the key points of a possible gas deal, which might be signed next week, according to Interfax. At the same time, Oettinger stated that the EU should be ready for the worst-case scenario, i.e. that Russia fully stops supplying its gas to EU. Putin also did not rule out such a scenario is his Belgrade speech, stating that there is a risk that Russia will have to cut gas supplies to EU though Ukraine, in case the Ukrainian government engages in “unauthorized confiscations of gas, as in 2008”. Alexander Paraschiy: The Oct. 16-17 ASEM summit offers a chance for top EU officials to bring about some gas deal between Ukraine and Russia. Oettinger’s statements confirm the EU leadership is highly interested in concluding a deal. At the same time, we see too many mismatches in the visions of Ukraine and Russia on how the dispute should be solved, so we remain skeptical on a solution reached in the coming week.