Translated material
Without the right to property
Russia decided to abandon its ambitious plans to become the owner of the Ukrainian pipeline. In any case in the near future. In the draft intergovernmental agreement, which Moscow sent to Kyiv on the eve of the Friday meeting of two prime ministers, a completely different option for creating a gas consortium is proposed, which before this was calculated by Russian negotiators.
The fact that Ukraine once again changed its negotiation position has already become clear during the June meeting of Mikhail Kasyanov and Anatoly Kinakh in Kharkov. Russian negotiators wanted to link the signing of an agreement on the transit of Russian gas through the territory of Ukraine for the next year with the consent of Kyiv to privatize their pipeline. But Anatoly Kina in a categorical form stated that in the coming years Ukraine would not privatize its gas pipeline. “We are completely excluding an element of privatization in the coming years,” the Ukrainian prime minister cut off then.
To invest in the restoration of the pipeline and at the same time not to be the owner of this object for Russia is a meaningless risk. The Ukrainian position actually set the cross on the plans for the sale of shares in the joint venture to foreign investors (for example, Ruhrgaz GAZ and GAZ de France), and therefore, on creating additional foreign policy pressure on Ukraine in solving disputed economic issues.
Russia did not formally cross out its intentions. The refusal to jointly use the Ukrainian pipe could prevent Moscow from increasing gas supplies to Europe, which is going to double its consumption by 10 years. Russian negotiators chose once again to give in to Ukraine.
In the "updated" version of the intergovernmental agreement on the creation of a gas consortium there is not a word about the privatization of the pipeline. Now it is proposed to create a joint venture on a parity basis, where 50% will belong to the Russian Gazprom and Naftogaz of Ukraine. The prospect of privatization of the pipe is mentioned only in passing. “If Ukraine changes its legislation, then the consortium will be a priority contender for the privatization of the pipeline,” a source in the government explained to Gazeta.
However, Russia is hardly worth counting on this step. The Ukrainian budget almost half consists of revenues from the transit of Russian gas. Voluntarily refuse gas revenues and get into new debts Kyiv is not
will become. Moreover, the issue with the "old" has not yet been settled.
Russia could give a debt question a few years ago. The supply of Russian gas, carried out to the territory of Ukraine from 1993 to this day, is executed by intergovernmental agreements. And any debt on them, not repaid until January 1, 2000, is the duty of Ukraine to Russia. According to the Budget Code (BC), it can be restructured only with the consent of the State Duma.
Since 1995, a number of agreements have been signed that provide for other options for resolving Ukrainian gas debts. In 1995, during the restructuring of Gazprom received the government officials of Ukraine due to $ 1.4 billion due to the Russian Federation. In December 2000, Prime Minister Evgeny Primakov tried to deploy the process and signed a document confirming the state status of gas debts. But a year later, the concept changed again. Mikhail Kasyanov signed a signature under a completely different document: Ukraine's obligations received the status of debts between two business entities - Gazprom and Naftogaz of Ukraine. As a result, the Russian company instead of sovereign Eurobonds received low-fluid papers of the bankrupt enterprise, which even in the White House is called "Fantiki". According to experts, now only 10-30% of the face value can be obtained for Naftogaz bonds.
In addition, under this agreement, Russia was supposed to provide state guarantees of calculations between two gas companies. According to BC, these guarantees should again be included in the state external debt. Moreover, the State Duma was supposed to make an appropriate change to the budget. But the Duma did not ratify this agreement - it was not even in terms of a spring session.
As a source in the government explained to the Gazeta, Russian negotiators cannot use debts as a subject of political pressure on Kyiv. The thing is that the Kremlin perceives Kuchma as a political ally. When asked why this is happening, the government invariably answer: "This is the position of Putin and Voloshin." As a result, the legal status of Ukrainian debts is changing all the time, and the basis for its further settlement is actually absent.
08/15/2002 / Victoria Abramenko