Ukraine and Russia resumed tense talks yesterday amid Russian threats to cut off natural gas exports to its energy-dependent neighbor within 72 hours unless Kiev agrees to pay four times as much.
The dispute has brought to a boiling point the tensions that have strained relations between Moscow and its former imperial satellite since reformist President Viktor Yushchenko came to power in Ukraine after last year's Orange Revolution, promising to move his nation of 48 million toward integration with the West.
Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly Gazprom has threatened to turn the taps off at 10am on Sunday if Ukraine refuses to sign a new contract at a price of US$220-230 per 1,000m3.
That is more than four times the current tariff of US$50. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov on Wednesday denounced the Russian demand as unacceptable pressure. Ukraine relies on Russia for nearly a third of its gas needs.
Ukrainian Energy Minister Ivan Plachkov flew into Moscow on Wednesday for talks with his Russian counterpart Viktor Khristenko but the two officials left the negotiations late in the evening without a deal.
Officials from OAO Gazprom and the Ukrainian state energy firm Naftogaz met on Wednesday morning and the two ministers were due to resume their talks later in the day.
Gazprom argues that it has every right to demand the increase as a justifiable move to scrap energy subsidies enjoyed by former Soviet nations and move the price it charges Ukraine more into line with world levels.
Ukraine, which fears such a sharp rise in energy costs could cripple its energy-intensive heavy industry and impede efforts to boost its economy, has asked for the increases to be phased in over five years instead of all at once.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
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The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
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