Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin lashed out at Ukraine on Thursday for delivering weapons to Georgia, overshadowing talks with his Ukrainian counterpart that ended in a draft agreement on gas pricing.
Putin sharply criticized the ex-Soviet republic over what he said was weapons used by Georgia to fight Russia during a brief conflict in August.
“A more serious crime than arms deliveries in a conflict zone cannot be imagined,” Putin said.
“Several years ago, we could not have imagined Russians and Ukrainians making war against each other, but that has happened and it’s a crime,” he said.
The comments came amid tense relations between Moscow and Kiev over the conflict in Georgia, but the two prime ministers were able to reach a draft agreement that seeks to resolve the delicate issue of gas prices. Gas prices have been a sore point between the countries, and much of Europe also has a stake in whether the issue is put to rest.
Russia has cut supplies to both Ukraine, which is heavily dependent on Russian energy, and Western Europe before in disputes over gas prices.
“The parties have confirmed their good will in moving gradually, in three years, to market prices,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said after the meeting outside Moscow.
“We don’t need shock therapy in terms of prices,” she added at a joint press conference with Putin.
Ukraine eventually paying market prices for gas would mean a major increase on what it pays now.
Tymoshenko said last week she expected Ukraine to sign a deal with Russia by the end of next month on the delivery of gas from next year for a period of up to four years.
Tymoshenko later met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, his press service reported according to Interfax news agency.
Media reports had said Moscow was pressuring Tymoshenko to ally with pro-Russian forces in Kiev, but she denied any such links between the “price of gas and the composition of the future coalition” in Ukraine.
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