Dixi Group expert: gas issues should not be a part of the "Normandy talks"
The expert warned that package agreements with Russia turn out to Ukraine’s disadvantage
Gas issues between Ukraine and Russia should not be a topic of political talks concerning peaceful settlement, Dixi Group expert Roman Nitsovych said at the briefing “Conformity of the government’s plan with requirements of the Association Agreement in the energy sector”.
“We have to be wary of the possible appearance of the gas topic during the "Normandy talks". In my opinion, gas issues should not be a topic of political talks concerning peaceful settlement or any other “package” agreements,” the expert warned.
Roman Nitsovych believes that “the history of Ukraine-Russia relations, especially in the gas sector, vividly proves that very often, these “package” gas-political agreements turned out to be a disadvantage to Ukraine’s interests”.
It is worth reminding that in 2010, the-then President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych and Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed the “Kharkiv Accords” which prolonged the lease on the Russian Black Sea Fleet base in Sevastopol until 2042 in exchange for a $100discount on the price of 1000 cubic meters of natural gas for Ukraine.
After occupation of Crimea, Russia’s State Duma has unilaterally denounced these accords.
