Over the past several months, the conflict between the Russian Gazprom and the Ukrainian Naftogaz has lasted. The cause of the conflict is trivial and to some extent ugly - Ukraine refuses to pay for gas at a certain rate.
The gas conflict began in the mid-2000s, when V. Yushchenko was in power in Ukraine. Despite the fact that gas was supplied to Ukraine at a lower price (in comparison with European consumers), Yushchenko said that the cost of gas supplied by Russia is deliberately overstated, and Ukraine cannot pay that much for "blue fuel". From time to time, ceasefires broke out in the conflict (the longest was in the period from 2006 to 2010).
At the moment, the gas conflict has received a new round of development due to the tense political situation in Ukraine. About a month and a half ago, Russian President V. V. Putin gave the Ukrainian government a term (1 month) for it to pay off the gas debt. It should be noted that today Ukraine owes Russia about 2.5 billion dollars. If Ukraine does not pay the debt, then Russia will have to go to court to collect debts for gas.
Why Ukraine does not want to pay for gas
Kiev explains its unwillingness to pay the debt for Russian gas by the fact that prices for 1,000 cubic meters are too high. If earlier Russia provided discounts for Ukraine for gas, now the cost of a cubic meter has risen above the average market price (with a discount, the price of 1000 cubic meters of gas was $ 268.5, now the cost has risen to $ 485). It is this fact that the Ukrainian government is outraged. Despite the fact that Ukraine has a huge gas debt, it also demands the return of fuel discounts. This position of the Ukrainian authorities outrages Gazprom.
The low cost of 1,000 cubic meters of gas was due to an agreement with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Due to the fact that now completely different people have come to power in Ukraine, the discount was canceled.
Possible options for the development of the gas conflict
Today, experts have two versions of the development of the gas conflict. First, Ukraine will be able to pay off Russia's debt. Second, Ukraine will give up its debts, bring the case to court, lose it and pay off the debt for the supply and purchase of gas for a long time. In fact, it turns out that Ukraine intends to "hold out" to the second version of the development of the conflict. At the moment, no action is taken by the interim government of Ukraine in terms of payment of debts. That is why the people of Ukraine will have to prepare for the worst.
Gas conflict resolution
Most likely, the gas conflict will no longer be resolved amicably, since the term given by V. V. Putin, has practically left, and the interim government of Ukraine did nothing to somehow reduce or pay off the debt in full.
