Moscow (AFP) - Russian gas giant
Gazprom on Tuesday announced it was ending a discount enjoyed by Kiev in
a major blow for the Ukrainian economy, as Ukraine approved the holding
of joint military exercises with NATO close to Russia's newly-annexed
region of Crimea.Continue....
Ukraine has
reported a partial withdrawal of Russian troops from its eastern border,
amid tentative signs of a calming in the worst East-West standoff since
the Cold War. However NATO said it could not confirm the retreat.
Ukraine's
parliament meanwhile met one of Moscow's key demands by voting
unanimously to disarm all self-defence groups that sprang up across the
country during its political crisis that first erupted over a ditched EU
alliance in late November.
But
tensions still remained high over two weeks after Moscow formally
annexed Crimea, as NATO foreign ministers prepared to forge a response
to Russia's intervention and emboldened foreign policy.
The
crisis is at a critical juncture as Ukrainian politicians jockey for
position ahead of May 25 presidential elections and tentative diplomacy
gets under way between Moscow and the West to find common ground after
the fall of president Viktor Yanukovych.
With
Moscow able to use gas as a lever to pressure Kiev, Gazprom chief
executive Alexei Miller said Ukraine will now pay $385.5 dollars per
1,000 cubic metres of gas from the previous cut rate of $268.5.
- Gazprom pressures Ukraine -
"The
discount will no longer apply," he said in a statement. "This is due to
the inability of the Ukrainian side to pay for debts from 2013 and
realise full payments for current deliveries."
The
discount had been agreed between Yanukovych and President Vladimir
Putin in December 2013 as a form of financial aid to the former regime.
The
price hike -- although widely expected -- is a new blow to the
Ukrainian economy which needs an international rescue to stave off the
risk of default.But meeting a key demand posed by both the West and Russia, Ukraine's parliament Tuesday voted to disarm all self-defence groups that had sprung up across the country during its political crisis.
- War games -
"The
Ukrainian people are demanding order," acting president Oleksandr
Turchynov said. "Those who carry arms -- besides the police, the
security services and the national guard -- are saboteurs who are
working against the country."
The move came after a member of the radical Ukrainian nationalist group Pravy Sektor opened fire in central Kiev late Monday.Three people, including the deputy leader of the capital's administration, Bogdan Dubass, were wounded, the interior ministry said. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said the gunman was apprehended two hours after the incident.
The manoeuvres approved by Ukraine's parliament on Tuesday would see Ukraine conduct military exercises with the United States and other NATO countries in areas including the Black Sea where Crimea is located.
Ukraine is not a NATO
member but it did form a "distinctive partnership" with the Alliance in
1997 and has been staging joint exercises with its state members ever
since.
"This is a good opportunity to develop our armed forces,"
acting Defence Minister Mykhailo Koval told parliament. The exercises
would partly occupy a 25-day span between July and October based around
two Odessa ports and "along the waters of the Black Sea".The announcement came as NATO foreign ministers were gathering in Brussels on Tuesday as the defence alliance seeks to reinforce its eastern frontier to respond to Russia's assertive foreign policy.
In
a regular two-day meeting of the 28 ministers, including US Secretary
of State John Kerry, NATO will confirm the suspension of cooperation
with Moscow, a decision made on March 5 after Russian troops grabbed
Crimea from Ukraine.
NATO has
not ruled out the possibility of placing permanent military bases in the
Baltic countries -- breaking a promise made to Russia in the 1990s that
it would keep permanent troops out of new member countries that border
Russia.
- NATO doubts Russian withdrawal -
"We cannot do business as usual with Russia," said Douglas Lute, the US ambassador to the Brussels-based Western alliance.
Ukraine
and the United States have accused Russia of massing thousands of
troops near the border and have expressed concern that Moscow intends to
seize southeastern parts of Ukraine with large populations of ethnic
Russians following the Crimea takeover.
But
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's office said Putin had personally
informed her of the troop pullback in a telephone conversation on
Monday, while her Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called the
move "a small sign that the situation is becoming less tense".
Ukraine's
defence ministry said the start of the Russian drawdown appeared to
coincide with a phone call that Putin had unexpectedly placed to US
President Barack Obama on Friday evening.
Russia's
defence ministry confirmed on Monday it had relocated one battalion --
usually made up of about 500 soldiers -- that had been stationed near
Ukraine back to its permanent base, but reported no other troop
movements.
But NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said
he was unable to confirm the pullback. "This is not what we have seen,"
he said.
Russia wants Ukraine
be turned into a federation in which the regions enjoy broader autonomy
from Kiev and have the right to declare Russian as a second official
language.
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