Germans think that Poroshenko has made not his best choice in appointing Iryna Gerashchenko as a Commissioner on Peaceful Settlement of the Conflict in the east of Ukraine.
Neue Zurcher Zeitung
The member of UDAR party in the parliament Iryna Gerashchenko is not taken seriously by separatists in Luhansk and Donetsk. As a newspaper from Zurich points out, Pro-Russians demanded Russian and international organisations’ representatives at their negotiations with Ukrainian authorities.
www.nzz.ch
EU is clinged to Kremlin: There are no talks in Brussels about implementing the third package of economic sanctions after Moscow cut off gas supply to Kyiv.
Le Monde:
Brussels is seeking the ways to continue Russian gas supply to Europe. “As Ukraine hasn’t had enough gas reserves, the transit to Europe cannot be guaranteed.” By involving into the gas conflict with Moscow, Ukraine’s president Petro Poroshenko could face a credibility gap and Ukraine could turn into a not very reliable commercial partner,” the article states. Even after Russia cut off gas supply to Kyiv, Brussels does not think to launch the so-called third package of economic sanctions against it. Europeans have just accepted the fact that the deescalation process won’t be as successful as they hope it would be.
abonnes.lemonde.fr
Russians are buying in the West no only weapons, but technologies as well.
The Washington Post:
The French are sending Russia advanced helicopter carriers. Germans built it a high-tech military training facility. Italians have been shipping armored vehicles, chief-correspondent of The Washington Post Moscow office Michael Birnbaum recounts. “Although precise figures are shrouded in secrecy and difficult to compile, France was the most enthusiastic trading partner. Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic have also been involved in selling equipment to Russia in recent years, according to data compiled by SIPRI. The sales involve aircraft, armored vehicles and communications supplies,” the journalist says. Russian authorities agreed to buy the communications systems of the Mistral with Nicolas Sarkozy government, Hollande is going through with the sale without major domestic opposition. “The issue is monetary, first and foremost. But it’s also one of reputation,” said Etienne de Durand, the director of security studies at the French Institute of International Relations. “It’s kind of difficult when you’re in the business of selling arms to cancel any kind of sale.”
www.washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com
Russian propaganda. Ukraine might have blown a pipeline up itself.
EUObserver:
A diplomat anonymously told that Ukraine might have blown it up itself in order to discredit Russia. “Gazprom is financially dependent on Ukrainian transit to the EU, so its not in their interest to gravely disrupt supplies to Europe … If it doesn’t cause a long-term problem then I suspect Russia was behind it, but if it does, then I wouldn’t rule out Ukrainian involvement,” the source said to Brussels edition.
euobserver.com
The eco of Russian propaganda. German media think Gazprom could blame Kyiv for gas debts and win the case.
Die Zeit:
Kyiv puts his stake on the Russian monopolist’s traditional inability to present itself at the international stage. The previous two “gas wars” of 2006 and 2009 made a serious damage to the company, the correspondent reminds. Meanwhile, out of the “whole agitation” nobody pays attention that Kyiv has not been paying his debts for several months. The latest events could help Gazprom to show that Ukraine is an unreliable partner. Fall-off in gas selling does not bother the monopolist, for after Russian cut off the gas supply to Ukraine, gas price has increased by 10 percent on the European market. Moreover, the conflict with Ukrainian authorities helps the monopolist to force the construction of South Stream gas pipeline bypassing Ukraine.
www.zeit.de
Ukraine has a few unique technologies that are critical to Russian military production.
The Christian Science Monitor:
“In light of Moscow’s continued support for armed rebels in Ukraine’s east, it seems logical that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has officially terminated “defense cooperation” between his country and Russia,” The Christian Science Monitor writes. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who is in charge of military industries, insisted Tuesday that Russia has a “fully worked out” program to replace all Ukrainian components within 2-1/2 years. Alexander Golts, a military expert, says it will be miraculous if we can replace those within three years as Rogozin claims. Yet another blow to Russia’s military is the loss of production and cooperation with the huge, state-owned Kiev-based Antonov company, makers of the world’s largest transport planes. Experts say that Russia, with its vast industrial base and petroleum-fueled state budget, will eventually recover from the sudden rupture of ties. Ukraine’s military industries, mostly located in the strife-torn east of the country, may have far greater difficulties in surviving the loss of their former Russian markets. Without major support from the nearly-bankrupt Ukrainian government, some large Ukrainian defense firms “will collapse,” Anton Mikhnenko, deputy director of the Center for Army, Conversion, and Disarmament Studies in Kiev says.
www.csmonitor.com
The translator’s mistake could cost a reputation for a prime-minister.
Der Spiegel:
Even Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk already occurred with defaults in appearance, which can deepen the division of the country. On Sunday, the Ukrainian Embassy in the United States published in English a statement of the prime minister to death of the aircraft militaries of the crashed plane in Luhansk. In English version of the statement the separatists were called “subhumans” and later this word was replaced with “inhuman”. Such situations do not help in conflict settlement.
www.spiegel.de
