Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko
Ukraine's Multibillion-Dollar Gas Debt: Who Pays? -- RT
Ukraine plans to buy $770 million worth of gas (2 billion cubic meters) from Russia this winter to keep the heat on, but before that, they must pay off $1.45 billion in debt. The question is: who is going to pay the bill?
All three parties, Russia, the EU, and Ukraine met in Brussels on Tuesday and confirmed Kiev will pay $385 per 1,000 cubic meters of Russian supplied gas through the end of March. Before Ukraine can start purchasing gas, they need to pay off $1.45 billion in debt.
“There’s one obstacle: Ukraine failed to pay for Russian-supplied gas for seven months,” Oettinger said Tuesday. It will be difficult for Ukraine to find a benefactor, since, as Oettinger pointed out, its credit history is less than stellar. The economy is in ruin and may already need extra IMF money to stay afloat.
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My Comment: It is always about the money. Bottom line .... Ukraine is bankrupt and it does not have the means to pay-off this debt. They are hoping that the Europeans would give them the money to do so .... but the problem (from the European perspective) is that the last time they did that, the government in Kiev essentially took the money to pay off it's government employees and to pay for it's war against the eastern part of the country. I doubt that the EU is not going to make the same mistake again .... hence the impasse of today. My prediction .... the EU will pay-off this debt, and they will give the Ukraine government extra money via through loans and other subsidies.
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