Russia agrees to provide electricity, coal for Ukraine
Iran Press TV
Sat Dec 27, 2014 11:47PM GMT
Russia has agreed to provide electricity and coal for Ukraine despite Kiev's decision to cut off electricity as well as bus and train services to Russia's newly-integrated Crimean Peninsula.
'Considering the critical situation with [Ukraine's] energy supplies, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin decided to start these shipments despite the lack of prepayments,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday.
The move came a day after Ukraine stopped providing electricity for Crimea, arguing that Kiev has its own electricity shortages because pro-Russia forces operating in the country's east have blocked coal shipments to its power plants.
Ukraine also suspended train and bus services to Crimea on Friday over what it described as security concerns.
Moscow will send 500,000 tons of coal to Ukraine per month, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak said, adding that the amount could be doubled if an agreement is reached between the two countries.
'No agreement concerning Crimea has been signed to date,' Kozak noted.
He expressed hope that the move would help ensure reliable energy supplies to Crimea.
Crimea declared independence from Ukraine on March 17 and formally applied to become part of Russia following a referendum a day earlier in which 96.8 percent of the participants voted in favor of the secession. The voter turnout in the referendum stood at 83.1 percent.
The reunification fuelled pro-Russian protests in the eastern regions of Ukraine. The Western-backed Kiev government launched military operations in mid-April to silence the protests.
Violence intensified in May after the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions held local referendums in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine.
MSM/NN/AS
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