Behind the Ukraine Crisis

摘要

On the surface, this week's standoff between Russia and Ukraine bore striking similarities to earlier disputes. Russian state giant Gazprom demanded that Ukraine settle its outstanding debts, pay a much higher price for its gas this year and stop siphoning off gas destined for export to Europe. Ukraine denied stealing gas, proposed a much lower price and asked Gazprom to stop channeling its gas via intermediaries, which have been a hallmark of the two countries' gas trade since the early 1990s.