The New York Times-20080129-Russia- Gazprom-Ukraine Gas Dispute- -Brief-

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Russia: Gazprom-Ukraine Gas Dispute; [Brief]

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The prime minister of Ukraine, Yulia Tymoshenko, below, demanded that Gazprom, the Russian natural gas monopoly, deal directly with the Ukrainian state oil and gas company rather than through an intermediary as it does now. The demand could unravel a natural gas trade agreement that settled a dispute between Ukraine and Gazprom two years ago. That agreement set up the intermediary, RosUkrEnergo, to buy gas from Gazprom and sell it at a loss to Ukraine and then recover the loss by selling gas in Europe at a higher price or blending gas with lower-cost gas from central Asia. Europe buys about 25 percent of its gas from Gazprom, and about 25 percent of it is shipped through Ukraine. In another sign that the deal may be unwinding, the Russian police last week arrested Semyon Mogilevich, a reputed organized-crime figure with ties to RosUkrEnergo, though on tax-evasion charges unrelated to the Ukrainian gas business.

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