04 December 2003 16:20
Russian energy chief says island dispute threatened Ukraine acquisition
Kiev, 4 December: The chairman of Unified Energy System of Russia [UES], Anatoliy Chubays, has said the situation
with the construction of a causeway in the Kerch Strait led to a deterioration in Ukrainian-Russian relations and fed
anti-Russian feelings in Ukraine. [In October, Russia started building a causeway from the Taman peninsula towards the
Ukrainian Tuzla Island in the strait. Construction stopped when the causeway was about 100 metres short of the
island.]
Answering a question about the political component in UES's acquisition of Ukrainian energy assets at a news
conference in Kiev on Thursday [4 December], Chubays said: "It is possible to compare the two Russian strategies
towards Ukraine that have been applied recently. The first strategy is called Tuzla. The second is called acquisition of
energy assets and Russian investment in the Ukrainian power sector. Choose."
"As I see it, the Tuzla strategy has brought nothing except a national humiliation for Russia, a sharp
deterioration in relations between Russia and Ukraine, and a substantial boost to anti-Russian feelings in
Ukraine," he said.
"This is a strategy that could only be carried out by people who don't know what planet they're living
on, nor what is necessary for Russia and Ukraine," he said.
"Russia should be a strong country, and it needs strong and effective neighbours - not weak ones. A strong
Ukraine and a strong Russia - that is the only correct strategy for developing our relations," Chubays said.
He said that the Tuzla situation had delayed UES's acquisition of Ukrainian energy assets, and even threatened
to derail the deal altogether.
[Interfax-Ukraine news agency] |
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