It is good to see an agreement between a supplier and its customer. However, we are not seeing here a victory of strong-arm negotiating tactics on behalf of Gazprom, are we?
Unfortunately, it would not be the first time.
Onésimo Alvarez-Moro
See article:
Gazprom, the Russian state-controlled energy group, on Wednesday said it had secured an agreement from Ukraine’s government to pay $1.3bn (€921m, £639m) in natural gas arrears by November 1, thus avoiding potential cuts in supplies.
Dmitry Medvedev, the Gazprom chairman and Russia’s first deputy prime minister, said that following talks with Yury Boiko, Ukraine’s energy minister, “we have reached agreement to avoid such problems in the future”. He added: “European consumers won’t suffer. European consumers are in an absolutely comfortable situation.”
But despite his assurances, confusion remained about the exact nature of the agreement reached in Moscow, with analysts suggesting it might be only an initial step towards resolving a stand-off that has rekindled fears over possible shortages in gas supplies to Europe.
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