Focus Turns To Gas Monitors In Russia-Ukraine Gas Dispute
10/1/2009Interview with Radio Free Europe on the developments of the Russo-Ukrainian gas row, quoted in an analysis written by Bruce Pannier:
This latest Ukrainian-Russian row has been a sobering reminder to the EU of the pitfalls of relying on gas from Russia. Bordonaro says Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko may be the one to bear much of the blame due to his hard-line stance on negotiating with Russia, which “has not paid off.”
But Bordonaro adds that the EU can easily spread the blame around.
“In the industry market, in the Ukrainian energy market, I think that Naftohaz has not emerged as a particularly reliable player for Europe,” he says. “Even so, Europeans tend to accuse Gazprom, and they have good reasons for doing that, because we should not forget that the Europeans have already paid for that gas and that the Russians must respect their contractual duties.”
