President: Public officials are personally responsible for effective resolution of gas price problem

News / 20 January 2012 | 18:06

Public officials, including the National Security and Defense Council members, bear personal responsibility for the efficient and consolidated work to solve the problem of high gas price, President Yanukovych said at today’s meeting of the NSDC, ForUm learned from the presidential press office.

“Dear colleagues, I would like warn and ask about personal responsibility for the effectiveness of our joint action in the areas we are to outline today,” he said.

The problem of gas supplies and gas price has become a “hindrance to the social-economic development of our country,” Viktor Yanukovych said. “We need to provide an optimal adequate response to this issue,” he said.

The President reminded that for the third year in a row Ukraine is looking for a way out of the situation it ended up in due to the 2009 gas contracts and no adequate solution to this problem has been found yet.

“Currently, not only does the excessive overpayment for gas drain our country’s development funds, but it hits almost every citizen of our country in the pocket,” Viktor Yanukovych said, reminded that not counting the Kharkiv agreement discount “Ukraine pays the highest price for gas in Europe, and probably in the world.”

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Azarov: There are no grounds to increase communal and housing tariffs

News / 20 January 2012 | 17:40

If tariffs on communal and housing services have been increased by local authorities and without solid grounds, local self-governments should pay for housing subsidies from their own budgets, Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov told a press conference commenting on the statement of Sumy mayor on central power’s interference into tariff formation process, ForUm correspondent reports.

“As for the statement of Sumy mayor on that the government should not interfere into the tariff formation process, I want to say that if he wants to form tariffs by himself, then he cannot ask any subsidies from the state budget. The problem is that some smarty pants increase tariffs for communal services, and the government has to increase subsidies for population. The rule says that tariffs for housing and communal services cannot exceed 10% of pensioners’ income and 15% of working people’s income. If he is so smart, I want to make a deal: you form your tariffs, but don’t ask the government about anything. I will ask the Sumy mayor is explained everything I’ve just said,” the PM pointed out.

According to Azarov, there are no grounds to increase communal and housing tariffs, as the price for energy carriers has not grown up.

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Azarov does not rule out joining Customs Union

News / 20 January 2012 | 17:10

Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov does not rule out that Ukraine may join the Customs Union in the format “3+1″, he told a press conference in Kyiv, ForUm correspondent reports.

Azarov explained that such cooperation means that Ukraine will sign those paragraphs of the agreement, which are advantageous for it.

“The Customs Union is working within three countries. We are following and observing this work, what are pluses and what are minuses. We propose to announce the format “3+1″, which means we look at the package of agreements and choose those acceptable for us,” he said.

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PM assures FTA agreement with EU was not signed due to technical reasons

News / 20 January 2012 | 16:45

Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov declares that Ukraine has not signed the agreement on Free trade area with the European Union due to technical reasons. The PM said this at a press conference, ForUm correspondent reports.

“Very often I have to dispel various myths. One of them is the delay of signing the FTA agreement with the EU. There was no delay. The work on the agreement is still in progress. By the Ukraine-EU Summit in autumn the text of the agreement was not ready technically. The principal issued had been agreed, but this is a document of big volume, and it was not ready for signing. Hence, there was no delay,” the PM said.

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PM Azarov: Ukraine, IMF to continue talks January 24

News / 20 January 2012 | 16:20

A Ukrainian delegation will meet top officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, January 24, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has said this at a meeting with Richard Morningstar, Special Envoy of the United States Secretary of State for Eurasian Energy, the Cabinet of Ministers said in a statement, according to UKRINFORM.

“We send to Washington on January 24 our representative delegation to meet with the IMF. We want to hold the next round of negotiations and hope for mutual understanding with the management of the Fund,” Azarov emphasized.

The prime minister also voiced hope that the U.S. will help Ukraine address the problematic issues in the negotiations with the IMF.

A reminder that Minister for Social Policy Serhiy Tihipko said if a consensus is made upon the results of the gas talks with Russia, Ukraine will resume cooperation with the International Monetary Fund.

As reported, Ukraine could not agree with the International Monetary Fund on the revision of the program of cooperation and the allocation of a new tranche of the loan until the question of a reduction in the gas price with Russia is agreed.

The IMF in July 2010 approved Stand-By Arrangement for more than USD15.5 billion, and in 2011 it was ready to provide Kyiv quarterly with USD1.5 billion to support reforms.

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President: Ukraine should solve high gas price issue effectively and adequately

News / 20 January 2012 | 15:50

Ukraine should effectively and adequately resolve the problem of excessively high price of gas our country pays due to the 2009 contracts, President  Viktor Yanukovych said, opening today’s National Security and Defense Council meeting, ForUm learned from the presidential press office.

“This issue is of great importance for our country, its economy and development,” he said.

The President stressed that the infamous gas agreement is a “huge burden” for Ukraine due to the fact that it had been signed for 10 years. Therefore, he said, we are now making every effort to resolve this issue.

“In the times of economic crisis in the world – and Ukraine is also affected by it – the agreement is an additional factor of negative influence on our country,” Viktor Yanukovych said.

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Azarov: Political stability helped to restart economic development of the country

News / 20 January 2012 | 15:21

During the crisis the country lost 60% of economic growth rate, Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov told a press conference, ForUm correspondent reports.

According to the PM, the decrease of the growth rate happened due to absence of political stability, which resulted into economic instability. “Something was always in the way. If our country had kept developing we would have overrun Poland and other EU countries,” Azarov believes.

The PM noted that for the last year the government managed to overcome the crisis and stabilize the development despite unfavourable situation. “The most important is that the country has managed to stop the growth of state debt. Further growth of the state debt could have led to bankruptcy,” Azarov pointed out.

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Bogatyryova: Gas contracts threat national security

News / 20 January 2012 | 14:50

The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine have decided to work out additional measures to secure energy independence of the country, NSDC head Raisa Bogatyryova told journalists after the Council’s session.

According to Bogatyryova, the conditions of the current gas contracts with Russia threat national security of Ukraine. The contracts have led Ukraine’s economy into abyss, and overrated tariffs have reduced Ukraine’s competitiveness.

To prove her words Bogatyryova noted that annually Ukraine pays 96 billion hryvnias for Russian gas, and state losses are up to five billion dollars per year.

Speaking about persistent negotiations on revision of gas contracts, NSDC head says they may last very long. In this connection the NSDC has decided to work out a number of additional measures to secure energy independence of the country.

In particular, the NSDC proposes to diversify gas supplies, namely to repair strategic relations with other counties-suppliers of gas in the region; to increase gas production on the territory of Ukraine and to use it for domestic consumption; and to start mass introduction of energy saving projects and to use alternative sources.

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Court of Appeals upheld the decision to close criminal case against Leonid Kuchma

News / 20 January 2012 | 14:19

Kyiv Court of Appeals has confirmed the legality and upheld the decision not to start a criminal case against Ukraine’s former president Leonid Kuchma on his suspected involvement in the murder of journalist Georgy Gongadze.

The decision was announced Friday by the court’s board of judges after consideration of prosecutors’ appeal against the decision of Kyiv’s Pechersky Court to close the criminal case, instituted against Kuchma.

The full text of the decision will be announced on January 25.

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Criminal case opened over New Year’s laser show ‘Freedom to Yulia!’

News / 20 January 2012 | 13:50

A criminal case has been initiated against members of the opposition party Batkivshchyna, who on December 31, January 1, projected on the Conservatory building at the central square of the capital, Independence Square, a laser inscription ‘Freedom to Yulia!’, UKRINFORM reported.

The head of the regional organization of the party Batkivshchyna and MP Andriy Pavlovsky face imprisonment of up to 4 years for the “group hooliganism”.

Batkivshchyna party said in a statement that in the criminal case New Year greetings to Yulia Tymoshenko are regarded as a failure of the New Year holiday for the entire Ukraine. The Batkivshchyna party considers the criminal case yet another manifestation of political repression and persecution of the opposition.

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