In the long run, all it achieves is to drive people to secure alternative means of supply, and there always are alternative means of supply.

European leaders have not yet responded to Vladimir Putin's appeal for urgent talks to resolve questions surrounding Ukraine's debt to Moscow for natural gas and possible effects on supplies, the Russian president's spokesman said on Friday.

Dmitry Peskov also hit back after the United States accused Russia of using energy as a tool of coercion, saying the United States is not a customer and has no business questioning the price Moscow charges Ukraine for gas.

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He said it would be pointless to talk with the United States and that discussions with the European Union "would not be fully fledged without the participation of the consumer countries", indicating Moscow does not want to negotiate with the EU alone.

Responding to U.S. criticism, Peskov said "it is hard to understand American assessments ... of the fairness or unfairness of the price because this assessment is being given by a third party that has no relation to the European gas market."

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/04/11/ukraine-crisis-gas-kremlin-idUKL6N0N32NG20140411

The only way in which the EU could help pay off Ukraine's debt would be to either give them the funds on top of aid already promised or buy bonds to cover the amount. Neither are actually available until after Ukraine's May election for president.

Yatsenyuk did not meet with representatives of the protesters, nor did he offer any detail on how his vision of devolution differed from that of the separatists.

The officials whom Yatsenyuk met asked him to allow referendums on autonomy for their regions, not on secession.

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Meanwhile on Friday, European energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger said the EU was working on a plan to help Ukraine pay some of its gas bills to Russia, telling Austria's ORF radio there was "no reason to panic" about Russian gas supplies to Europe.

"We are in close contact with Ukraine and its gas company to ensure that Ukraine remains able to pay and the debts that the gas company has to Gazprom do not rise further," he said, adding he would meet Ukraine's energy and foreign ministers on Monday.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/11/ukraine-pm-power-regions-donetsk-referendum

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2014/04/ukrainian-pm-tackles-crisis-restive-east-2014411121225503211.html

Its already become clear that notwithstanding the EU agreement the east of Ukraine ,of their own volition , will continue to export to Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan the alternative being mass unemployment. A lot of their production is for the Russian arms industry - Russia is a close second to the US for arms exports.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-10/u-s-tells-russia-it-s-ready-to-add-more-sanctions-as-g-7-meets.html

"While the share of Ukrainians voicing approval for their respective regions joining another country is at 8 percent, 18 percent of respondents in the Donetsk province support the idea, according to an opinion poll by the Kiev-based Democratic Initiatives Foundation. The creation of an independent state in southern and eastern Ukraine is backed by 11 percent, according to the March 16-30 survey conducted among 2,010 respondents in 24 Ukrainian regions including Crimea and the capital, Kiev. "

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-10/ukraine-miners-don-camouflage-as-donetsk-uprising-mimics-maidan.html

'That’s a view shared by most people in the Donetsk region, according the local Institute of Social Research and Political Analyses. Sixty-six percent of the region’s population wants Ukraine to remain united, the research group said, citing a poll of 500 people conducted March 26-29. The results have a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.'

The gentlemen may have exaggerated a trifle, but he is close enough for government work and political campaigning. It is highly unlikely separation from Ukraine is desired by any more than a decided minority of people in the Donets basin.

And he may well be exaggerating. However there is no question that Ukraine is better served to remain united and independent than to be balkanized and under the thumb of the Russia or the West.

on Putin's chess board.

as payment for land. If Ukraine were to accept the money, it would be acknowledging that it had lost Crimea. Ukraine is nowhere near that point yet.

Sooner or later, they are going to propose forgiving the debt in exchange for Ukraine formally accepting the loss of Crimea. I'd almost bank on it.

Ukraine will make Greece look like a picnic.

It was however Ukraine's choice to do so.

Count on it.

Nice to see you around.

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