Deeper integration in return for gas

Ukraine’s former President Viktor Youshchenko thinks that in return for reducing the price of its natural gas Russia will demand that Ukraine sign several treaties creating deeper ties between the two countries. Youshchenko has appealed to the current leadership of Ukraine not to bargain with Ukraine’s interests, insisting that Ukraine should stick to the agreements and memorandum concluded with European Union concerning the modernisation of Ukrainian natural gas transportation systems and the development of a transit route from the Caspian Sea, via the Black Sea, to the Baltic.