MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin warned European leaders on Thursday Russia would cut natural gas supplies to Ukraine if it did not pay its bills and said this could lead to a reduction of onward deliveries to Europe.
In a letter to the leaders of 18 countries, he demanded urgent talks with Europe on pulling Ukraine's economy out of crisis but made clear his patience was running out over Kiev's $2.2 billion gas debt to its former Soviet master.
His comments were Russia's most explicit threat to cut off gas to its neighbor, a move that could worsen a dispute over Moscow's annexation of Crimea that has resulted in the worst East-West crisis since the end of the Cold war in 1991.
"...Gazprom is compelled to switch over to advance payment for gas deliveries and in the event of further violation of the conditions of payment will completely or partially cease gas deliveries," Putin said in the letter, sent to European leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country is the largest consumer of Russian gas in the 28-nation EU.
"Undoubtedly, this is an extreme measure. We fully realise that this increases the risk of (Ukraine) siphoning off natural gas passing through Ukraine's territory and heading to European consumers," Putin wrote in the letter, seen by Reuters.
People usually don't remember what they learned in geography class when they were in 3rd grade that they never saw again that has zero impact on their personal lives or their employment as adults. People don't remember things that aren't important to them. Nobody running schools anywhere really thinks geography is that important, so almost nobody anywhere still remembers the 2 hours they spent on world geography when they were 8. But they are naive to the point of stupidity, participating in shit like this. No one asks you to pinpoint a country on a map unless they want to make fun of you for being stupid if you fail
Haha eat it Frenchies! And radiotren, my sincerest apologies on you living in a country apparently full of mouthbreathers. Meanwhile, my shame will never lessen after seeing...
135 North Korea 140 United States 145 France 159 Denmark
(also if you try to take this geography zone challenge think it is really stupid and easy to misclick and get a wrong answer and SHAME YOUR COUNTRY FOREVER so be careful!)
I'm upset that Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo are different. v_v
I also learned that I am very poor at African geography. :D
MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin warned European leaders on Thursday Russia would cut natural gas supplies to Ukraine if it did not pay its bills and said this could lead to a reduction of onward deliveries to Europe.
In a letter to the leaders of 18 countries, he demanded urgent talks with Europe on pulling Ukraine's economy out of crisis but made clear his patience was running out over Kiev's $2.2 billion gas debt to its former Soviet master.
His comments were Russia's most explicit threat to cut off gas to its neighbor, a move that could worsen a dispute over Moscow's annexation of Crimea that has resulted in the worst East-West crisis since the end of the Cold war in 1991.
"...Gazprom is compelled to switch over to advance payment for gas deliveries and in the event of further violation of the conditions of payment will completely or partially cease gas deliveries," Putin said in the letter, sent to European leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country is the largest consumer of Russian gas in the 28-nation EU.
"Undoubtedly, this is an extreme measure. We fully realise that this increases the risk of (Ukraine) siphoning off natural gas passing through Ukraine's territory and heading to European consumers," Putin wrote in the letter, seen by Reuters.
At least it is becoming very clear that we should very, very quickly find some other source of energy that is not russian gas, because Putin will use that gas line as a weapon. And considering his recent foreign policies i think that limiting the amount of pressure Russia can exert on other countries can only be a good thing.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin warned European leaders on Thursday Russia would cut natural gas supplies to Ukraine if it did not pay its bills and said this could lead to a reduction of onward deliveries to Europe.
In a letter to the leaders of 18 countries, he demanded urgent talks with Europe on pulling Ukraine's economy out of crisis but made clear his patience was running out over Kiev's $2.2 billion gas debt to its former Soviet master.
His comments were Russia's most explicit threat to cut off gas to its neighbor, a move that could worsen a dispute over Moscow's annexation of Crimea that has resulted in the worst East-West crisis since the end of the Cold war in 1991.
"...Gazprom is compelled to switch over to advance payment for gas deliveries and in the event of further violation of the conditions of payment will completely or partially cease gas deliveries," Putin said in the letter, sent to European leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country is the largest consumer of Russian gas in the 28-nation EU.
"Undoubtedly, this is an extreme measure. We fully realise that this increases the risk of (Ukraine) siphoning off natural gas passing through Ukraine's territory and heading to European consumers," Putin wrote in the letter, seen by Reuters.
Hilarious threats after they more then doubled(or was it tripled) the price of gas since the crisis began.
Which by the way also interfers with the Budapest memorandum which states:
According to the memorandum, Russia, the U.S., and the UK confirmed, in recognition of Ukraine becoming party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and in effect abandoning its nuclear arsenal to Russia, that they would:
Respect Ukrainian independence and sovereignty within its existing borders. Refrain from the threat or use of force against Ukraine. Refrain from using economic pressure on Ukraine in order to influence its politics. [...]
On April 10 2014 22:54 Dangermousecatdog wrote: I'm suprised that even 1 in 6 got it right, but about the same amount appeared to have hit the black sea, and others hit random spots in the ocean, so I don't think it's reliable. Most probably, most of those misses are just people trying to zoom in or shift the map or something.
To be fair there are beautiful dumb girls in Russia too. For example this one was Miss Russia in 2012 and in an interview she couldn't tell if the Sun goes around the Earth or vice versa.
On April 11 2014 00:27 Mc wrote: I'd be curious to see what percentage of Europeans can point out NY state on a map. I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't a similar number.
That's actually quite impressive. Almost everyone got the largest states right and more often than not the smaller states were in the right region. That's the equivalent of getting Germany, UK, France, Spain and Italy right, while having Albania and Macedonia or Estonia and Lithuania mixed up.
And that's for states not countries. Ask an American (or anyone, really) to find Norfolk, Bavaria or Shandong province on a map. Or just name five states of India.
PACE has decided to suspend the voting rights of the Russian delegation, as well as its right to be represented in the Assembly’s leading bodies, and its right to participate in election observation missions.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), declaring that Russia’s annexation of Crimea was “in clear contradiction with the Statute of the Council of Europe” and the commitments Russia made when it joined the organisation in 1996, has decided to suspend the voting rights of the Russian delegation, as well as its right to be represented in the Assembly’s leading bodies, and its right to participate in election observation missions, effective until the end of the 2014 session (26 January 2015).
In a resolution adopted by 145 votes in favour, 21 against and 22 abstentions, after a three-hour debate, the Assembly said the military occupation of Ukrainian territory, threat of military force, recognition of the illegal so-called referendum and annexation of Crimea “constitute, beyond any doubt, a grave violation of international law”.
The resolution, based on a report by Stefan Schennach (Austria, SOC), reads: “In consequence, in order to mark its condemnation and disapproval of the Russian Federation’s actions with regard to Ukraine, the Assembly resolves to suspend the following rights of the delegation of the Russian Federation until the end of the 2014 session:
• voting rights; • right to be represented in the Bureau of the Assembly, the Presidential Committee, and the Standing Committee; • right to participate in election observation missions.”
However, the Assembly also declared that “political dialogue should remain the most privileged way to find compromise, and there should be no return to the pattern of the Cold War. Suspension of the credentials of the Russian delegation would make such a dialogue impossible, while the Assembly constitutes a good platform for keeping the Russian delegation accountable on the basis of the Council of Europe’s values and principles.”
It added: “The Assembly reserves the right to annul the credentials of the Russian delegation, if the Russian Federation does not de-escalate the situation and reverse the annexation of Crimea.”
On April 11 2014 00:27 Mc wrote: I'd be curious to see what percentage of Europeans can point out NY state on a map. I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't a similar number.
That's actually quite impressive. Almost everyone got the largest states right and more often than not the smaller states were in the right region. That's the equivalent of getting Germany, UK, France, Spain and Italy right, while having Albania and Macedonia or Estonia and Lithuania mixed up.
And that's for states not countries. Ask an American (or anyone, really) to find Norfolk, Bavaria or Shandong province on a map. Or just name five states of India.
US States are often as big and important as European countries. California has a GDP similar to Russia and Italy, and a Population similar to Spain or Poland. Texas and New York state both have GDPs that would put them in the league of Spain. New York state and Florida have about as many people as Poland. All of this says nothing about cultural output, where CA and NY have incredibly outsize influence.
If Hungary was a US state, it would rank between Michigan and N. Carolina in population, and between Utah and Washington D.C. in GDP.
I know it's popular to bash U.S. knowledge of geography, and I acknowledge that the U.S. is more insular than it should be, but I swear I'd be rich if I had a nickel every time I heard some European say they were gonna be in Atlanta for business, maybe I should drive over from upstate NY to hang out, or other geographical silliness.
US states don't nearly have the cultural distinction or historical importance of European nations. How Europe (in it's somewhat current form) is/was divied up has had pretty big impact on the modren world. Compared to that I'm not really sure why the average person outside of the US would know where most states are. Who cares what a states economic output is. I mean I don't expect most people to know or need to know where other places across the world are, but I'd certainly hope more New Yorkers know where Germany is than vice versa.
Anyway, this off topic discussion made me realize that people need to make world maps with Crimea part of Russia now, right? I bet places are confused if they officially should or shouldn't haha.
On April 11 2014 00:27 Mc wrote: I'd be curious to see what percentage of Europeans can point out NY state on a map. I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't a similar number.
That's actually quite impressive. Almost everyone got the largest states right and more often than not the smaller states were in the right region. That's the equivalent of getting Germany, UK, France, Spain and Italy right, while having Albania and Macedonia or Estonia and Lithuania mixed up.
And that's for states not countries. Ask an American (or anyone, really) to find Norfolk, Bavaria or Shandong province on a map. Or just name five states of India.
US States are often as big and important as European countries. California has a GDP similar to Russia and Italy, and a Population similar to Spain or Poland. Texas and New York state both have GDPs that would put them in the league of Spain. New York state and Florida have about as many people as Poland. All of this says nothing about cultural output, where CA and NY have incredibly outsize influence.
If Hungary was a US state, it would rank between Michigan and N. Carolina in population, and between Utah and Washington D.C. in GDP.
I know it's popular to bash U.S. knowledge of geography, and I acknowledge that the U.S. is more insular than it should be, but I swear I'd be rich if I had a nickel every time I heard some European say they were gonna be in Atlanta for business, maybe I should drive over from upstate NY to hang out, or other geographical silliness.
Sure, but the same is true for some of my examples. Bavaria has the population of Pennsylvania and a higher GDP. I doubt even 10% of Americans could place any German state on a similar state map of Germany with any confidence, even though by and large German states are about as populous and economically important as US states. Frankly, I don't think they should be able to.
I actually wasn't bashing on US geographical knowledge. I was pointing out that knowing where medium sized US states are is arcane knowledge, something not even educated people would be expected to know. FWIW, I don't expect Americans to be able to point out Hungary or even Ukraine on a map. I think it would be nice if they knew it was in Europe (and where Europe was in the first place). But if you are going to form an opinion on the situation it's probably a good idea to familiarize yourself with the geography a little at first.
So if the Ukrainian government is giving these protestors 24 hours to vacate those buildings, and given that they have no intention of surrendering any time soon, shouldn't we all be worried about a potential bloodbath unfolding in Donetsk tomorrow?
On April 11 2014 06:13 Shake n Blake wrote: So if the Ukrainian government is giving these protestors 24 hours to vacate those buildings, and given that they have no intention of surrendering any time soon, shouldn't we all be worried about a potential bloodbath unfolding in Donetsk tomorrow?
No because i dont believe the Ukraine government is stupid enough to start shooting.
On April 11 2014 02:07 Simberto wrote: At least it is becoming very clear that we should very, very quickly find some other source of energy that is not russian gas, because Putin will use that gas line as a weapon. And considering his recent foreign policies i think that limiting the amount of pressure Russia can exert on other countries can only be a good thing.
That's a bit of a short-sighted statement. Russia is just as dependent on EU money as EU is dependent on Russian gas.
On April 11 2014 02:07 Simberto wrote: At least it is becoming very clear that we should very, very quickly find some other source of energy that is not russian gas, because Putin will use that gas line as a weapon. And considering his recent foreign policies i think that limiting the amount of pressure Russia can exert on other countries can only be a good thing.
That's a bit of a short-sighted statement. Russia is just as dependent on EU money as EU is dependent on Russian gas.
Russian gas is a bit easier to supplant than global trade participation. It's just a matter of williness to do so.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin warned European leaders on Thursday Russia would cut natural gas supplies to Ukraine if it did not pay its bills and said this could lead to a reduction of onward deliveries to Europe.
In a letter to the leaders of 18 countries, he demanded urgent talks with Europe on pulling Ukraine's economy out of crisis but made clear his patience was running out over Kiev's $2.2 billion gas debt to its former Soviet master.
His comments were Russia's most explicit threat to cut off gas to its neighbor, a move that could worsen a dispute over Moscow's annexation of Crimea that has resulted in the worst East-West crisis since the end of the Cold war in 1991.
"...Gazprom is compelled to switch over to advance payment for gas deliveries and in the event of further violation of the conditions of payment will completely or partially cease gas deliveries," Putin said in the letter, sent to European leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country is the largest consumer of Russian gas in the 28-nation EU.
"Undoubtedly, this is an extreme measure. We fully realise that this increases the risk of (Ukraine) siphoning off natural gas passing through Ukraine's territory and heading to European consumers," Putin wrote in the letter, seen by Reuters.
Hilarious threats after they more then doubled(or was it tripled) the price of gas since the crisis began.
To be fair, the prices are merely being brought in-line with the average European prices on gas. It's not like they're marking it up for Ukraine specifically or something. Pretty much everyone in Russia believes starting to charge Ukraine for gas properly has been loooong overdue, and it's not like Ukraineans haven't been blatantly stealing Russian gas for years even with all the discounts and loans they've been getting on it.
On April 11 2014 07:05 Caladan wrote: That's a bit of a short-sighted statement. Russia is just as dependent on EU money as EU is dependent on Russian gas.
All countries are dependent on each others, and that is simple fact, which we should not forget. But Ukraine politics forget it. And for latest 20 years ukrainian education system and mass media tells people, that ukraine is under russian occupation for latest 350 years, and all that time russian threated ukraine people and their culture. (But when USSR had gone, ukraine had best infrastructure, and one of the best industry zone. Also size of ukraine doubled in XX century under russian "occupation". I won't protest, if someone will occupy russia that way ^^ ) And that is root of problem. Too much of antirussian propaganda was there at last 20 years (and it works well in west ukraine, while almost didn't worked in east), and all that events came to life, because too many people now just blame russian in all ukrainian problems and dont want to think rationally. When you base you actions on emotions, and half of country feels the same, while other - not, you won't get anything acceptable. (Emotions never lead to anything good )
In fact, Russia made nothing to get Crimea. Ukrainian politics and euromaidan did all that things on their own. Does Russia act good in that history? No. We just defended our interests. And any other country will do so in such situation. Real politics is just like "Game of thrones" (just direct killing is more problematic). I don't like it, but there is only 2 alternatives: you hands is dirty or you're dead (because hands of all other gamblers will be dirty for sure) x_x
And i wonder how ukraine going to end crisis, whithout russia. I think, it would be interesting to watch.
EPT
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