On the perspective of “draining the pipe” operation

The government of Russia (and thus, Gazprom as well) has declared one more gas and political war against Ukraine. Russia launched a number of openly hostile actions against our country under the pretext of unauthorized tapping of gas meant for European countries, and after the new Russian draft gas agreement was not approved of in Ukraine – despite Ukraine being officially Russia’s strategic partner. This campaign was started by Dmitry Medvedev, when he ordered Gazprom to construct the South Stream as soon as possible, and determined this to be a kind of punishment for Ukraine. Almost at the same time the Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir Putin gave a speech, the main topic of which was that the Black Sea Fleet was not going to leave Sevastopol. And finally, this series of anti-Ukrainian acts was crowned by Gazprom spokesman Sergei KUPRIANOV, who directly threatened Ukraine in his speech. According to him, after the gas transportation projects the South Stream and the North Stream are finished, the importance of Ukraine for the transportation of Russian gas is going to equal to zero.

We discussed the present situation in Ukraine-Russia relations and the actions that Ukraine’s government might take in a blitz-interview with the former minister of foreign affairs Volodymyr OHRYZKO.

Can the current relations between Ukraine and Russia be considered not as just a gas war, but as a political one as well?

“I have stated multiple times that all these wars are a sign of deep contradictions between Ukraine and Russia. And the latter is to blame for this. If we analyze the 20 years of our independence, the Ukrainian party has never offered Russia anything else except for normal bilateral relations based on international law. And due to a certain disease called neo-imperialism that is still in progress in Russia, Ukraine has always been seen as something not quite legitimate, temporary, that should come back under the protectorate of Russia. The policy, which is oriented on economic, humanitarian, and political subordination of Ukraine, has its own tools. In the economic dimension, gas is the main one. It has become one of the most important elements of this war (that is what you call it if you analyze all that has been going on). I am convinced that the continuation of the economical aggression against Ukraine has absolutely no perspective. Fortunately, it will not have long-lasting effects.”

Is it possible that under these conditions Ukraine will have to denounce the Kharkiv Agreements?

“Any agreement may be denounced if one of the parties is willing to do that. It is a generally accepted principle of international law. Therefore, this agreement can be denounced as well. The question is, if any of the parties has a political will to do it. In my opinion, the Kharkiv Agreements, along with the gas contracts of 2009, have to be reviewed. It would be easier to do that with the gas contracts of 2009, since these are the agreements between economic agents, while the Kharkiv Agreements is a state-to-state treaty. But anyway, it should be both reviewed and denounced.”

Can you see the political will to do that on Ukraine’s part?

“As for the moment, it is not revealed yet. They are proceeding with the attempts to find at least some kind of compromise, though personally I think that it is already impossible to find one. And first of all, this is due to the fact that Russia is facing a new presidential election. And this makes all the concessions on the part of the ‘favorite’ impossible by default. The information about the project sent from Russia clearly shows that it is not about fair, equal relations, but about an attempt to secure unilateral economic benefits. That is why this direction is not promising in case the Ukrainian party champions national interests. Still, I think that eventually the whole of Ukraine-Russia gas relations will be reconsidered. They are the main component of corruption on both sides. If we want to move closer to the European Union, it is necessary for all the closedness and obscurity, that was typical of the gas relations between these two countries, to become history.”

Are the changes in Ukraine’s policy in terms of relations between Russia and Ukraine possible after Valerii Khoroshkovsky’s new assignment?

“It is not yet known what responsibilities the newly appointed first vice prime minister will have, and bringing up this matter is a bit too soon. As far as I understand, he will be responsible for the whole economic block, economic reforms, and European integration. And if we act according to the Association Agreement with the European Union, the body of which has already been prepared, and other documents signed between Ukraine and the EU, we should accept European rules, and therefore change the very foundation of relations between Ukraine and Russia in economic and energetic areas. This means that the changes are objectively a must. And their implementation depends on what kind of policy the incumbent government of Ukraine decides to choose.”