Russia cutting gas deliveries to Slovakia

[pampango]

Prime minister Robert Fico told press after a cabinet meeting in Bratislava on Wednesday (1 October) that the drop came without any warning.

He said his national distributor, SPP, can still "fulfill its commitments" on “reverse flow” to Ukraine and supply customers in Slovakia and the Czech Republic by buying extra volumes on the spot market. But he criticised Russia, saying: "Gas has become a tool in a political fight … This isn't about a lack of gas, it’s about playing with gas supplies as an instrument of political posturing”.

Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland started selling Russian gas back to Ukraine after Russia cut off its neighbour in a price dispute in June. But Hungary also cut off Ukraine after the CEO of Russian gas firm Gazprom visited Budapest last week.

The Slovak crunch comes ahead of meetings between EU officials, Russia, and Ukraine on Thursday and Friday. The EU commission has put forward a deal for Ukraine to pay Russia $3.1 billion of debt and to pre-pay for gas month by month at above market prices until April in return for 5 billion cubic metres (bcm).

http://euobserver.com/foreign/125854

Apparently Russia is cutting the flow of gas to Hungary by half because Hungary is selling gas to Ukraine. The problem is not that Hungary is behind in payments to Russia but that Hungary is helping Ukraine.

[Diclotican]

1. pampango

pampango

Russia is indeed playing hardball with Eastern Europe - who buy its natural gas, from sources in the former Soviet Union - notable Russia - And Putin is using its power - to posturing the power of Russia - I'm afraid it might backfire on Russia in the long run - as most countries in Eastern and Western Europe already have started the progress (slow but still) of waining itself off russian natural gas - by buying it from other places - or try to go renewal energy sources - who might take time to build - but in the long run might as well do good for Europe as a whole - and make some of the poorest countries less depended on natural gas from countries like Russia - who act out and is not playing nice for a second anymore...

I think Putin believe he can build up its empire again - by acting as the soviet never fall - and that countries like Slovakia is still a member of COMECOM - and therefore can not do as they want...

It is not easy to say what countries like Hungary - Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania and many others who have contact to Russia and who buy large quantities of natural gas from Russia should do - but by playing hardball as Russia do today - I suspect Hungary, and many of the other nations who is buying natural gas from Russia - should not paying full price if they do not get the whole quantity of natural gas - if Russia can play hardball - so can the other nations do too - and maybe the rest of EU could ship in - and make sure the eastern part of Europe is not going around to cold this winter... And to build up renewable energy sources on a large scala in most of this countries...

Diclotican

[pampango]

2. Thanks for your insight, Diclotican. I had thought that Ukraine's unpaid gas debt was the reason

that Russia was playing hardball with it over deliveries of natural gas this winter. But, as you say, Russia apparently sees it can cause a lot of pain by cutting or withholding natural gas deliveries and is willing to do so whether that country owes money for past deliveries or not. Perhaps Eastern Europe will learn to live with less dependence on Russian natural resources in the long run but it will be a painful lesson for a while.

[Diclotican]

8. pampango

pampango

Some of the reason is that ukraine is in debt to Russia over natural gas - but I think from what I know - that Russia is playing hardball with many more nations - mostly because some of the eastern european nations - have stated rather firmly that they do not accept or condone the russian actions in Ukraine - mostly out of fear - because if Russia can do it in Ukraine - they can do that other places too - like in the Baltic's - who have large minorities of russians - in one of the Baltic's the russians are almost in majority - and it is a valid fear about Russia using this minorities to carve up demands for more independence - or to be united with Russia - the baltic states have a long and painfully history with Russian violence - and it make many from the Baltic's rather unsure about Russia of today - mostly because I suspect Ukraine is just a stepping stone for what could happened the next years - specially as Putin is shown as a man of strength - and is playing with the cards rather as an expert... But it is a difference between Ukraine and the baltic states - The baltic states is part of NATO - UKraine not so much - even if some in Ukraine want to be a memberstate... Russia itself once - in the 1990s stated rather clearly that a membership in NATO was something to recognize as a possibility - but after Putin got into office in 2000 - I doubt Russia would go into a membership with NATO anytime soon... If ever...

I do not understand why Putin is playing the hardball as he does for the moment - he might have planned to do this all along - but the recklessness he have shown in Ukraine - and have continued to show in his dealings with other states is rather telling - about a man who want to change the past - and the future - even if it means going to war.... A war who might end badly for Russia - as the world have changed a lot since 1990 - even if most countries in Europe have decreased their armed forces dramatically since 1990 - Russia are no near the strength it had before the wall was being teared apart - and even in the rebuild of its armed forces - it is a long way before Russia again can be seen as a danger to the rest of Europe - and I doubt Russians want to go back to the Soviet Union style economical policy - where the armed forces got the lion share of everything...

Diclotican

[hobbit709]

3. "After Sudetenland I have no further claims in Europe."

The Russian/Soviet Empire wants to rise again.

[Diclotican]

9. hobbit709

hobbit709

The problems is that Russia of today - are not the same as Russia of yesterday - but I do know the expression - who Hitler stated in the munich on the eve of the Munich deal - who Hitler got everything he wanted - parts of Tsjekkoslovakia - and Austria to boot - without a single shot fired he got everything he wanted - and more - as he also got every fortress build by Tsjekkoslovakia too - and most of it armament industry as Hitler also invaded and put the rest of Tsjekkia under its command - who made the german war machine of the best in the western/middle europe... As Tsjekkoslovakia had some decent armaments industry - the famous Skoda industries... Who was famous for its light tanks - and its weapons - everything from hand weapon to cannons.. And of course the car Skid - who was way ahead of its time... Now it is owned by Volkswagen - and is more or less the same as a Volkswagen even if its design is still skoda made.. And for the most part - a decent car too

Diclotican

[malaise]

4. Russia is doing what has been done by the West when governments

stand up to them and refuse to follow Western orders.

Just ask Cuba, Iran, Iraq and those countries in Latin America and the Caribbean when their Chambers of Commerce (aided by outsiders) literally starved populations to force elected governments out of office.

[pampango]

5. And I doubt many liberals believe the West was right to have done that. Conservatives, OTOH, do

support the idea that US' national interests trump those of other countries.

Similarly I doubt that many liberals think that Russia is right when it imposes its national interest on other countries when they stand up to it and refuse to follow Russian orders. If I think the US was wrong to do it then I think Russia is wrong to do it. Depriving people of natural gas so that they "literally freeze" this winter is not morally superior to the US tactic of "literally starving" people who had the misfortune of living in a country that the bigger country's government did not like.

[malaise]

6. Really - the silence is deafening even on this progressive board

Kissinger said he would make the Jamaican economy scream back in 1974 because as a non-aligned sovereign state we supported the Cubans assisting our brothers and sisters in Southern Africa.
Then the M16s began to arrive and it was virtual civil war.

This tactic (like the bombing of aircraft) began as a tactic of the Western powers.
Just ask Kissinger.

[The Magistrate]

7. Still, Ma'am, If It Is Wrong For One Empire, It Is Wrong For Another Empire

I agree the United States has been, and is still today, wrong in its attempts to dictate terms of economic and political life in countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, on no more grounds, essentially, than that they are nearby, and it has the power to do so.

Russia attempting to dictate terms of economic and political life in Ukraine, on no more ground than that it is nearby, and that Russia has the power to do so, is every bit as wrong.