Batkivshchyna Party leader Yulia Tymoshenko believes Ukraine will be offered lower gas prices only under "special political conditions", according to Official website of Yulia Tymoshenko.
"If we want to be an independent, free and strong state, we can`t beg for special prices, because special prices always come with special political conditions," Yulia Tymoshenko said during today`s court hearing in her appeal of the criminal case opened against her over gas contracts signed between Ukraine and Russia in 2009.
The former prime minister asked the court to add to the evidence public statements made by the leaders of Russia and Ukraine in which they recognized the advantage of the 2009 gas contracts signed. "I ask that statements be added to the case that were made by the president of Russia and President Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine that the transition to market prices for gas and transit is good for Ukraine because it removes the political hooks from Ukraine and makes the formation of gas prices an economic rather than political issue," she said.
In her opinion, the current Ukrainian government is deliberately insisting on special prices for natural gas for Ukraine in talks with Russia for political purposes. "Yanukovych and Azarov deliberately don’t want to negotiate the best price for Ukraine because their goal is to bankrupt Naftohaz, create a situation in which Ukraine loses Naftohaz and the gas transport system because of debts, and argue for the creation of a joint venture with Gazprom because of high prices. We can already see the political consequences: because the price of gas is high, Ukraine must join the Customs Union and give away all its state property," she said.
Yulia Tymoshenko believes that by persecuting her over gas contracts, the authorities are, on the one hand, trying to shift responsibility for their treacherous acts and, on the other, ensuring huge profits for their associates. "Today, by giving up Ukraine`s national interest, they’re not `gaining` preferential gas prices for the people of Ukraine, but for themselves, for their businesses, for oligarchs and clans, and this means that certain clans that surround Yanukovych will earn excessive profits," she said.
Yulia Tymoshenko also drew the court`s attention to the fact that according to the resolution of the Prosecutor General’s Office, as a result of the agreements signed in 2009, Ukraine received all natural gas at $450 per 1000 cubic meters. "If this falsification isn`t removed, then there is nothing in this country – no courts, no investigations…This is a blatant lie and you can see this by examining two documents that are part of the criminal case and that were made by the Security Service of Ukraine and the Prosecutor General`s Office," she added.
According to the findings of a commission that reviewed the financial activities of Naftohaz (from April 11, 2011), based on a document issued on behalf of the current government and the management of Naftohaz, the actual average price of gas in 2009 was $232.98 per 1000 cubic meters.
"You don’t even read your own analysis? Do you think society is full of ignoramuses? The average price was $232.98, and in the resolution to open a criminal case, in an attempt to deliberately mislead the public, it says $450. Why such deception? And why do you even bother doing your own analysis?" asked Yulia Tymoshenko.
