Ukraine, Russia sign deal

to end natural gas cut-of

ahead of winter
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak shakes hands with Ukraine's
Energy Minister uri !rodan, right, after gas talks "etween the Euro#ean
Union, Russia and Ukraine at the Euro#ean $o%%ission head&uarters in
'russels (cto"er )*, +*,-. /0rancois 1enoir2Reuters3
'y
Michael 'irn"au% (cto"er )* at 45+6 !M
MOSCOW Russia agreed Thursday to resume selling
natural gas to Ukraine, ending a cutoff that had threatened to leave Ukrainian
households shivering as winter aroached!
The stoga deal will secure critical energy sulies for Ukraine through March and
will also hel assure "uroean countries that their own natural gas suly will not #e
disruted during chilly winter months! Russia cut off gas to Ukraine in $une, following
a rice disute and months of geoolitical turmoil!
The agreement aears to set u a truce, at least temorarily, on one front in the wide%
ranging conflict #etween Russia and Ukraine, where ro%Russian re#els have sei&ed
territory in Ukraine's industrial heartland! With free&ing weather fast aroaching,
Western olicymakers had worried a#out Ukraine's readiness to make it through the
winter without a fuel that is a critical source of heat! "uroe, too, deends on natural
gas that flows through Ukraine from Russia, making it vulnera#le to any disrution!
There is now no reason for eole in "uroe to stay cold this winter,( "!U!
Commission )resident $os* Manuel +arroso told reorters in +russels on Thursday!
The deal comes after months of fitful negotiations and ,uestions a#out how Ukraine
would #e a#le to ay down
a disuted multi#illion%dollar
de#t to -a&rom, the Russian state%controlled natural gas comany! The relationshi
#etween Russia and the West is at its worst since the Cold War, and some leaders had
worried that this winter would #e a reetition of .//0 and .//1, when some "astern
and Central "uroean households were left without heat after Russia throttled gas
during disutes with Ukraine!
Ukraine deends on Russia for a#out 0/
ercent of its gas! 2#out 34 ercent of
"uroe's natural gas flows through Ukraine
from Russia, although some "astern
"uroean countries are entirely deendent
on that suly!
Ukraine agreed to ay 56!3 #illion toward its
People stand in line to receive humanitarian aid
on October 30, 2014 at the Donetsk Circus
building in the eastern krainina cit! o" Donetsk#
$Dimitar Dilko""%&'P%(ett! )mages*
de#t to Russia in two installments #y the end of the year! 7t lans to #uy u to 8 #illion
cu#ic meters of gas at the rice of 569: er thousand cu#ic meters until the end of the
year, a discount of 53// from its current contract with Russia! Ukrainian "nergy
Minister ;uriy )rodan said Thursday that #etween $anuary and March the rice would
#e 5604! That figure was not immediately confirmed #y his Russian counterart!
The decisions we have taken today will rovide for the energy security of Ukraine #ut
will also facilitate the secure suly of gas to the "uroean Union,( )rodan said!
"!U! officials said Thursday that some of the money to ay for the gas would come
from "!U! and 7nternational Monetary <und aid rograms!
The rices are roughly the "uroean average! <or months Ukraine had sought a lower
rice, around 56.0, and it had also sought to eliminate the system of temorary
discounts, a longtime Russian strategy that Ukraine says leaves it vulnera#le to
olitical ressure! That asect of Thursday's deal reresented a clear caitulation for
Ukraine!
The tension was ala#le on Thursday when )rodan and Russian "nergy Minister
2le=ander >ovak each shook hands with their "uroean mediator #ut hesitated for
several awkward seconds #efore deciding to shake each other's!
The rocess has not #een easy! ?owever, we have managed to come to a
comromise,( >ovak said!
The deal does not guarantee that there will not #e gas cutoffs this winter! Russia has
#lamed revious cutoffs each for a stretch of several days on technical difficulties,
although they have coincided with times of olitical tensions!
The unresolved gas issue had aeared to #e weighing on Ukraine's leaders! )rime
Minister 2rseniy ;atsenyuk warned Ukrainians last month that they should e=ect a
cold winter! 2n autumn #reak at some Ukrainian schools was recently rolonged to
conserve energy!
Ukraine has ledged to reform its system of gas su#sidies, which international critics
say fuel corrution and discourage domestic energy roduction! +ut any such move
will #e olitically unoular for the arliament that Ukrainians elected on Sunday, the
most ro%"uroean in the nation's history!
On the ground in eastern Ukraine, fighting continued Thursday, with #oth sides
increasingly declaring an end to a Set! 4 cease%fire! 2 Ukrainian military sokesman
said Thursday that seven soldiers had #een killed in the revious day! Re#el leader
2le=ander @akharchenko who is running in >ov! . re#el%sonsored elections that
Ukraine and the "uroean Union have condemned as a violation of the eace
agreement said Thursday that re#els would seek to con,uer the key coastal city of
Mariuol if Ukraine did not hand it to them eacefully!
Michael 'irn"au% is 7he !ost8s Moscow "ureau chief. 9e
#reviously served as the 'erlin corres#ondent and an education
re#orter.
)osted #y Thavam