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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Haim R. Branisteanu who wrote (44298)	12/24/2008 6:40:38 AM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 217786

Merry Xmas to you all too! +25C outside Sunny. Just came back from a walk.

To: Haim R. Branisteanu who wrote (44298)	12/24/2008 1:57:49 PM
From: elmatador	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 217786

Pay up to 'last ruble' or face sanctions, Russia tells Ukraine. ELMAT: Since the gas to EU goes through Ukraine, Russia wants EU to intervene. They are facing tough times in Russia and Russia will use any weapon at its disposal to survive. Pay up to 'last ruble' or face sanctions, Russia tells Ukraine 1 hour ago MOSCOW (AFP) — President Dmitry Medvedev told Ukraine on Wednesday to pay its gas debts "to the last ruble" or face the prospect of sanctions from Moscow against its wider economy. His comments came after Russian energy giant Gazprom on Wednesday warned Ukraine it would cut gas deliveries on January 1 if a new contract were not signed for 2009 and the debts for 2008 not paid back in full. "The money must be paid until the last ruble if they do not want their economy to be hit by demands and sanctions from the Russian Federation," he said in an end-of-year interview on Russian television. "We cannot carry on like this. They should just pay up." Medvedev did not say what sanctions Russia could use against Ukraine's flagging economy but menacingly warned it had a "whole arsenal of possibilities" at its disposal. "We do not have any aim to cut off (the gas). Our aim is just to get our money. "But if Ukraine does not pay we will use a whole arsenal of possibilities and it is completely clear that there can be no illusions there." Earlier Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov told reporters that "if a contract for 2009 is not signed then we are not going to deliver gas without a contract." "When there is no contract we cannot realise deliveries. The situation is not simple. It is even critical." Gazprom and Ukraine's state energy firm Naftogaz have for the last weeks failed to agree a solution over the unpaid debts in a conflict that comes amid increasing diplomatic tensions between Moscow and Kiev. According to Kupriyanov, Ukraine owes Gazprom over two billion dollars -- 805 million dollars for November, 862 million dollars for December and 450 million dollars in penalties for late payment. "They finally paid for October. But they are not paying for November and December. This became clear today," he said "To our frank question if they would pay by the end of the year, we received a frank answer -- 'No'," he said. Ukraine is a major transit country for Russian gas exports to the European Union and a dispute over gas prices led to a brief interruption of gas supplies in several EU countries in January 2006. But Kupriyanov said: "We will deliver the full volume of gas destined for transit and we will fulfill all our obligations towards European consumers." His comments were echoed by Medvedev. The complexity of negotiations is exacerbated by Gazprom's desire to charge higher prices to Kiev under a new contract, something Ukraine is reluctant to agree amid the global financial crisis. The deadline for signing the new contract is January 1 and Gazprom has said there cannot be a new contract until the debts have been extinguished. Ukraine currently pays Russia 179.5 dollars for 1,000 cubic metres of gas but Gazprom has warned that price could rise to 400 dollars for 1,000 cubic metres from next year. The country is expected by analysts to plunge into recession as a result of the economic crisis and is in perpetual political turmoil as a result of the feud between President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. In the latest example of their squabbling, Tymoshenko on Wednesday accused Yushchenko of trying to stay in office by imposing a state of emergency and again called on him to resign. Medvedev said that after failing to pay the debts, Ukraine's leaders should be finding a way to settle its obligations. "But no, they try and invent things, to take positions. It is sometimes just shameful to look at."