2010 Ukrainian–Russian Naval Base for Natural Gas treaty
Encyclopedia
The Russian Ukrainian Naval Base for Gas treaty, widely referred to as the Kharkiv Accords or the Kharkiv Pact in the Russian and Ukrainian media, is a treaty between Ukraine and Russia whereby the Russian lease on naval facilities in Crimea
would be extended beyond 2017 by 25 years (to 2042) with an additional 5 year renewal option (to 2047) in exchange for a multiyear discounted contract to provide Ukraine with Russian natural gas
. The agreement, signed on 21 April 2010 in Kharkiv
, Ukraine, by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych
and Russian President Dimitry Medvedev and ratified by the parliaments of the two countries on 27 April 2010, aroused much controversy in Ukraine.
to the Russian Black Sea Fleet
until 2017. During the presidency of Victor Yushchenko the Ukrainian government declared that the lease will not be extended and that the fleet will have to leave Sevastopol by 2017.
Amid several Russia–Ukraine gas disputes, including a halt of natural gas supplies to European countries, the price that Ukraine had to pay for Russian natural gas was raised in 2009 and 2006.
, Mykola Azarov
, and the Energy Minister, Yuriy Boyko
, were in Moscow in late March 2010 to negotiate lower gas prices; neither clearly explained what Ukraine was prepared to offer in return. Following these talks Russian Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin
stated that Russia was prepared to discuss the revision of the price for natural gas
it sells to Ukraine. Mid-April Ukrainian officials stated they are seeking an average price of $240–$260 per 1000 cubic metres for 2010. Ukraine paid an average of $305 in the first quarter of 2010 and $330 in the second quarter.
On 21 April 2010, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
and Ukrainian
President
Viktor Yanukovych
signed an agreement in which Russia agreed to a 30% drop in the price of natural gas
sold to Ukraine. Russia agreed to this in exchange for permission to extend Russia's lease of a major naval base
in the Ukrainian Black Sea
port of Sevastopol
for an additional 25 years (to 2042) with an additional 5 year renewal option (to 2047).
"We have indeed reached an unprecedented agreement," the Russian president stated. "The rent [for the naval base] will be increased by an amount equivalent to that of the [gas price] discount."
, Volodymyr Lytvyn
, by deputies and other incidents. Opposition
members in Ukraine and Russia expressed doubts the agreement would be fulfilled by Ukraine
side. According to Yanukovych the only way out of holding the state budget deficit down, as requested by the International Monetary Fund
, while protecting pensioners and minimal wages, was to extend the Russian Navy lease in Crimea in exchange for cheaper natural gas. Opposition members in Ukraine described the agreement as a "sell out of national interests".
(PR) were out of their seats blocking the podium. For the ratification were 160 members of PR, including Rinat Akhmetov
, who was not present in the session hall. Among the opposition parties, the ratification was approved by nine members of BYuT and seven from Our Ukraine
. All members to the last from the Communist Party of Ukraine
and Lytvyn Bloc voted for the Kharkiv Pact as well. Of those who did not belong to a faction, only Taras Chornovil
, Oleksandr Fomin, and Ihor Rybakov did not support the agreement.
Results
the agreement violates part of the Ukrainian Constitution, which forbids the country from hosting foreign military bases after 2017. The Chairman of the Ukrainian Constitutional Court said on 23 April that only the President and the Cabinet of Ministers can request a court ruling on constitutionality. Our Ukraine called for the impeachment of President Yanukovych for violating the Ukrainian Constitution.
Prime Minister Putin opined that the price Russia was asked to pay was exorbitant and remarked, "No military base in the world is worth that much money. We could build several such bases for that amount." Boris Nemtsov
, former leader of the Union of Right Forces
, said that Russia needed the Black Sea fleet in Crimea for war with Georgia
and asked rhetorically if war with Georgia was worth $40 billion.
in exchange of a $15 billion loan). In August 2011, Ukraine paid Russia $350 per 1,000 cubic metres; in November 2011 it paid $400 per 1,000 cubic meters. Since August 2011 Ukraine seeks to reduce imports of Russian natural gas by two-thirds (compared with 2010) in 2016.
(22 April 2010) The show of the century, Ukrayinska Pravda
(27 April 2010) (Videos/Photos)
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
would be extended beyond 2017 by 25 years (to 2042) with an additional 5 year renewal option (to 2047) in exchange for a multiyear discounted contract to provide Ukraine with Russian natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
. The agreement, signed on 21 April 2010 in Kharkiv
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
, Ukraine, by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych is a Ukrainian politician who has been the President of Ukraine since February 2010.Yanukovych served as the Governor of Donetsk Oblast from 1997 to 2002...
and Russian President Dimitry Medvedev and ratified by the parliaments of the two countries on 27 April 2010, aroused much controversy in Ukraine.
History
In 1997, Russia and Ukraine signed the Partition Treaty, establishing two independent national fleets and dividing armaments and bases between them. Ukraine also agreed to lease major parts of its new bases in SevastopolSevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
to the Russian Black Sea Fleet
Black Sea Fleet
The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov....
until 2017. During the presidency of Victor Yushchenko the Ukrainian government declared that the lease will not be extended and that the fleet will have to leave Sevastopol by 2017.
Amid several Russia–Ukraine gas disputes, including a halt of natural gas supplies to European countries, the price that Ukraine had to pay for Russian natural gas was raised in 2009 and 2006.
Negotiation
The Prime Minister of UkrainePrime Minister of Ukraine
The Prime Minister of Ukraine is Ukraine's head of government presiding over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of the Ukrainian government....
, Mykola Azarov
Mykola Azarov
Mykola Yanovych Azarov ; born Nikolai Yanovich Pakhlo on 17 December 1947, is a Ukrainian politician who has been the Prime Minister of Ukraine since 11 March 2010. He was the First Vice Prime Minister and Finance Minister from 2002 to 2005 and again from 2006 to 2007, and he also served as acting...
, and the Energy Minister, Yuriy Boyko
Yuriy Boyko
Yuriy Boyko is a Ukrainian politician, Minister of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine . Hero of Ukraine.-Biography:...
, were in Moscow in late March 2010 to negotiate lower gas prices; neither clearly explained what Ukraine was prepared to offer in return. Following these talks Russian Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Russia
The Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation The use of the term "Prime Minister" is strictly informal and is not allowed for by the Russian Constitution and other laws....
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
stated that Russia was prepared to discuss the revision of the price for natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
it sells to Ukraine. Mid-April Ukrainian officials stated they are seeking an average price of $240–$260 per 1000 cubic metres for 2010. Ukraine paid an average of $305 in the first quarter of 2010 and $330 in the second quarter.
On 21 April 2010, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
and Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
President
President of Ukraine
Prior to the formation of the modern Ukrainian presidency, the previous Ukrainian head of state office was officially established in exile by Andriy Livytskyi. At first the de facto leader of nation was the president of the Central Rada at early years of the Ukrainian People's Republic, while the...
Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych is a Ukrainian politician who has been the President of Ukraine since February 2010.Yanukovych served as the Governor of Donetsk Oblast from 1997 to 2002...
signed an agreement in which Russia agreed to a 30% drop in the price of natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
sold to Ukraine. Russia agreed to this in exchange for permission to extend Russia's lease of a major naval base
Black Sea Fleet
The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov....
in the Ukrainian Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
port of Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
for an additional 25 years (to 2042) with an additional 5 year renewal option (to 2047).
"We have indeed reached an unprecedented agreement," the Russian president stated. "The rent [for the naval base] will be increased by an amount equivalent to that of the [gas price] discount."
Ratification and criticism
The agreement was subject to approval by both the Russian and Ukrainian parliaments. They did ratify the agreement on 27 April 2010. The Ukrainian parliament ratified it after several eggs were thrown towards the speakerChairman of the Verkhovna Rada
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's unicameral parliament. The speaker presides over the parliament and its procedures. They are elected by secret ballot from the parliament's deputy ranks...
, Volodymyr Lytvyn
Volodymyr Lytvyn
Volodymyr Mykhailovych Lytvyn is a Ukrainian politician and the current Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament. Having previously served in that position from 2002 until 2006, he was re-elected in December 2008 after his party agreed to join the former coalition of Yulia...
, by deputies and other incidents. Opposition
Opposition (politics)
In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed to the government , party or group in political control of a city, region, state or country...
members in Ukraine and Russia expressed doubts the agreement would be fulfilled by Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
side. According to Yanukovych the only way out of holding the state budget deficit down, as requested by the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
, while protecting pensioners and minimal wages, was to extend the Russian Navy lease in Crimea in exchange for cheaper natural gas. Opposition members in Ukraine described the agreement as a "sell out of national interests".
Voting
At 10:40, while most of deputies were out of their seats, the voting screen showed the number 236. During the voting, half of deputies of Party of RegionsParty of Regions
The Party of Regions is an Ukrainian political party created on October 26, 1997 just prior to the 1998 Ukrainian parliamentary elections under the name of Party of Regional Revival of Ukraine. It was reformed later in 2001 when the party united with several others...
(PR) were out of their seats blocking the podium. For the ratification were 160 members of PR, including Rinat Akhmetov
Rinat Akhmetov
Rinat Leonidovych Akhmetov is a Ukrainian businessman. He is the founder and President of System Capital Management, and is ranked among the wealthiest men in the nation. Akhmetov is also the owner and President of the Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk...
, who was not present in the session hall. Among the opposition parties, the ratification was approved by nine members of BYuT and seven from Our Ukraine
Our Ukraine
The Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc is an electoral alliance active in Ukraine, associated with former President Viktor Yushchenko. Since 2005, the bloc has been dominated by a core consisting of the People's Union "Our Ukraine" party and five smaller partner parties.The Our Ukraine Bloc is...
. All members to the last from the Communist Party of Ukraine
Communist Party of Ukraine
The Communist Party of Ukraine is a political party in Ukraine, currently led by Petro Symonenko.The party fights the Ukrainian national self-determination by identifying any Ukrainian national parties as the National-Fascist ones The Communist Party of Ukraine is a political party in Ukraine,...
and Lytvyn Bloc voted for the Kharkiv Pact as well. Of those who did not belong to a faction, only Taras Chornovil
Taras Chornovil
Taras Vyacheslavovych Chornovil is a Ukrainian politician and is an independent member of Reforms for the Future block in the Verkhovna Rada.-Early life:...
, Oleksandr Fomin, and Ihor Rybakov did not support the agreement.
Results
| Faction | Number of deputies | For | Against | Abstained | Didn't vote | Absent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party of Regions Faction Party of Regions The Party of Regions is an Ukrainian political party created on October 26, 1997 just prior to the 1998 Ukrainian parliamentary elections under the name of Party of Regional Revival of Ukraine. It was reformed later in 2001 when the party united with several others... |
161 | 160 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc | 154 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 145 |
| Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc | 72 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65 |
| Communist Party of Ukraine Faction Communist Party of Ukraine The Communist Party of Ukraine is a political party in Ukraine, currently led by Petro Symonenko.The party fights the Ukrainian national self-determination by identifying any Ukrainian national parties as the National-Fascist ones The Communist Party of Ukraine is a political party in Ukraine,... |
27 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lytvyn Bloc | 20 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No faction affiliated | 16 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| All factions | 450 | 236 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 212 |
Criticism
According to former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia TymoshenkoYulia Tymoshenko
Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko , née Grigyan , born 27 November 1960, is a Ukrainian politician. She was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 24 January to 8 September 2005, and again from 18 December 2007 to 4 March 2010. She placed third in Forbes Magazine's List of The World's 100 Most Powerful...
the agreement violates part of the Ukrainian Constitution, which forbids the country from hosting foreign military bases after 2017. The Chairman of the Ukrainian Constitutional Court said on 23 April that only the President and the Cabinet of Ministers can request a court ruling on constitutionality. Our Ukraine called for the impeachment of President Yanukovych for violating the Ukrainian Constitution.
Prime Minister Putin opined that the price Russia was asked to pay was exorbitant and remarked, "No military base in the world is worth that much money. We could build several such bases for that amount." Boris Nemtsov
Boris Nemtsov
Boris Efimovich Nemtsov is a Russian politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of Russia from 1997 to 1998. He was a co-founder of the Russian political party Union of Right Forces and is an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin.-Early life:...
, former leader of the Union of Right Forces
Union of Right Forces
The Union of Right Forces, or SPS , was a Russian democratic opposition party associated with free market reforms, privatization, and the legacy of the 'Young Reformers' of the 1990s: Anatoly Chubais, Boris Nemtsov, and Yegor Gaidar. Nikita Belykh was the last party's leader...
, said that Russia needed the Black Sea fleet in Crimea for war with Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
and asked rhetorically if war with Georgia was worth $40 billion.
Effects
In June 2010, Ukraine pays Gazprom around $234 per 1,000 cubic metres. Still, Ukrainian consumers experienced a 50% increase on household natural gas utility prices in July 2010 (a key demand of the International Monetary FundInternational Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
in exchange of a $15 billion loan). In August 2011, Ukraine paid Russia $350 per 1,000 cubic metres; in November 2011 it paid $400 per 1,000 cubic meters. Since August 2011 Ukraine seeks to reduce imports of Russian natural gas by two-thirds (compared with 2010) in 2016.
External links
Text of the agreement, Ukrayinska PravdaUkrayinska Pravda
Ukrayinska Pravda is a popular Ukrainian internet newspaper, founded by Georgiy R. Gongadze in April, 2000...
(22 April 2010) The show of the century, Ukrayinska Pravda
Ukrayinska Pravda
Ukrayinska Pravda is a popular Ukrainian internet newspaper, founded by Georgiy R. Gongadze in April, 2000...
(27 April 2010) (Videos/Photos)