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Russia to Protect Market from Negative Effects of EU Integration – Moscow

2014/06/27

MOSCOW, June 27 (RIA Novosti) – Integration with the EU is a sovereign right, but Russia will have to take measures if there are negative effects for its market, Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the president of the Russian Federation, said Friday.

"This is an absolutely sovereign right of Ukraine and Georgia. The Russian side will take measures if the implementation of these agreements will have negative consequences on the Russian markets,” the presidential spokesman said.

"The [Russian] president has repeatedly declared that everything will depend on the establishment of the documents, their ratification and implementation,” Peskov added.

Earlier in the day, Ukraine singed the economic part of its association agreement with the EU. The political part of the deal was signed in March, shortly after Crimea reunited with Russia following the March 16 independence referendum.

“It took Ukraine seven long years to walk a thorny road towards political association and economic integration with the European Union,” Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said during the EU summit in Brussels where the ceremony took place. Crimea will also be a member of the association agreement, the president underlined.

Georgia and Moldova also signed both the political and economic parts of association agreements in the hope of unfettered access to the EU's 500 million citizens.

Ahead of the signing ceremony, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy vowed to establish a visa-free regime for Ukraine and Georgia and to fully integrate the Georgian, Moldovan and Ukrainian economies into the EU.

Gazprom Expects Ukrainian Gas Purchases to Decrease This Year – CEO

2014/06/27

MOSCOW, June 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russian gas giant Gazprom expects Ukrainian purchases of Russian gas to decline in 2014, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) of shareholders Friday.

“The decrease in natural gas deliveries to neighboring countries in 2013 was brought about because of Ukraine’s decreasing consumption. The well-known events in Ukraine give grounds to believe there will be a continuation of this trend," Miller said.

Last year, Gazprom delivered 59.4 billion cubic meters of gas to former Soviet states. The company’s profit for 2013 was 423.5 billion rubles ($12.6 billion), Miller said.

Under the current contract, annual gas supplies from 2010 were fixed at 52 billion cubic meters, of which 80 percent, or 41.6 billion cubic meters, was required to be withdrawn under the “take-or-pay” rule.

Kiev has repeatedly said it does not need that much Russian gas, calling the contract “enslaving.” Ukraine is currently failing to comply with the take-or-pay rule. The country’s state gas company Naftogaz said it bought only 12.9 billion cubic meters from Gazprom last year.

Starting June 16, Gazprom was forced to switch to a prepayment system for Russian gas deliveries to Ukraine after talks on Kiev’s debt repayment and price revisions mediated by EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger failed.

Ukraine has refused to cover its unprecedented debt and is no longer receiving gas from Russia, effectively functioning as a transit country in the Russia-EU supply chain.

The Russian gas giant assured European consumers of its gas that flows through Ukraine would not be affected, continuing daily deliveries of 185 million cubic meters intended for the European market.

EU Stance on Crimea-Russia Reunification to Remain Unchanged – Diplomat

2014/06/27

BRUSSELS, June 27 (RIA Novosti) — The European Union’s refusal to recognize Crimea’s reunification with Russia is unlikely to change, Russia’s ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, told RIA Novosti in an interview Friday.

“The EU will maintain its position on refusing to recognize Crimea’s current status," Chizhov said.

Following Crimea’s reunification with Russia, the EU introduced a ban on imports from the Black Sea peninsula from June 25. Only Crimean goods with certificates from Ukrainian authorities are being allowed into the EU.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said earlier this week that the EU could take additional steps as part of its policy of refusing to acknowledge Crimea’s move to rejoin Russia in March.

Chizhov said there are a lot of unrecognized territories in the world. “I can refer to Transdniestria [a Moldovan breakaway region]. And this does not prevent European companies from operating there and continuing trade,” the ambassador said.

Chizhov added that the situation in Crimea is different. “The issue is that it’s not a separate state, it’s part of Russia. Therefore, exported Crimean goods will be goods made in Russia.”

Speaking of Crimean wine the ambassador said: “I think that Crimean winemakers can be calm: the Russian market in this sector is huge.”

Chizhov said he hopes the actions of EU authorities in Crimea will not affect European investors’ interest in working on the Black Sea peninsula. “I hope that investors have enough sense, commercial grip and acknowledgement of their own interests,” the Russian diplomat added.

Following the March referendum in Crimea that led to its reunification with Russia, the EU and the US accused Russia of escalating the crisis in Ukraine and violating the country’s territorial integrity, and imposed targeted sanctions against Russian officials and some entities.

The US has threatened Russia with tougher sanctions targeting key sectors of the country’s economy in the event of further escalation of the Ukrainian crisis. Russia’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the measures as counterproductive and warned of the boomerang effect they might have.

EU Has No Wish to Tighten Sanctions Against Russia – Diplomat

2014/06/27

BRUSSELS, June 27 (RIA Novosti) - The European Union has no intention and political will to expand sanctions against Russia, Russia’s ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, told RIA Novosti in an interview Friday.

"Of course, there is a theoretical possibility. The question is whether there is a wish or political will. In my opinion, no," Chizhov said answering a question if the bloc may increase sanctions against Russia.

The discussion on expanding the EU sanctions against Russia at the bloc’s summit on June 26-27 depends on how the EU leaders will assess the situation in Ukraine, a source close to the EU leadership said.

“The wish that the EU introduced sanctions is not in Europe itself but in another place, we won’t specify where, this is in line with those political, and I emphasize, economic interests. The intention to drive a wedge between Russia and Europe didn’t just come into being today and, unfortunately, it will not disappear tomorrow,” Chizhov said.

The EU has adopted and repeatedly expanded the sanctions list against people who they believe played a role in “violating Ukraine's territorial integrity.” A total of 61 Russian and Ukrainian nationals have been hit with EU travel bans and asset freezes over the crisis. Several Crimean enterprises have been targeted by the EU sanctions.

Moscow has repeatedly stated that the language of sanctions is "inappropriate and counterproductive" and warned its Western partners about the "boomerang effect" that sanctions would have.

The Yacht of Tsar

2014/06/26

Pelorus is a yacht of Abramovich, former Russian richest man. Biggest, at the time, most luxurious etc. But what did Russian elite use hundred years ago? Here is the boat “Livadia” named after a resort in Crimea, which has been used by the Russian Tsar (what could be more elite at time?)

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