60 minutes about the most, the most important things.
- Ukraine will renew purchases of the Russian aggressive gas, as it's called. It's not clear how official Kiev will clean it from Russian aggression, but Naftogaz already confirmed the information. We're waiting for some comments from Pyotr Poroshenko who exactly one week and a half ago, on January 5, to be more precise, stated that "Ukraine jumped off the Russian gas hook". And now, it jumped back on it for some reason.
- Our gas hook caught a big pike. They're either lost or there are some tectonic shifts in Ukrainian minds. Despite all the efforts made by Verkhovnaya Rada, they didn't go to the length of severing diplomatic ties with Russia. They were unable to add this marvel to the law as an amendment. Only 72 people's deputies were for it, it's three times less than necessary. The rest, as radicals think, are the Kremlin's agents, which Poroshenko turns out to be himself.
Sergey Melnichuk, people's deputy: "Good afternoon, people of Ukraine! Good afternoon, colleagues! I'll start with something I wrote yesterday after listening to our president.
Petr enjoys himself in the Maldives,
and Kiva eats his head off on Bali.
Measles is raging in the country,
and small children of the poor have no food.
People suffer from poverty,
and he opens new expensive castles.
These aren't international banquets,
this is dancing on people's blood.
Dear colleagues, what's happening in Ukraine means that we're almost at the very bottom".
- Kiev is developing cooperation with an occupant country, with an aggressor, and whatever else they call us. This year, as Naftogaz confirmed when we called to their press service, that Ukraine would start buying Russian gas. This is surrealism, indeed, surrealism against the background of the Ukrainian president's statements.
Petr Poroshenko: "Three years ago, we started taking decisive measures. How much Russian gas did we use in 2016 and 2017? Zero! We aren't paying the aggressor country anymore. Gas supplies to Ukraine were part of a hybrid war." When in April 2016 Russians called us and said, "Maybe you can buy it as far as it got warm?" We said that we were fine. We're energetically independent, and they're knocking at our door offering their gas. We have enough. We'll buy it if it's cheap, clean and not corrupt. What for? To lower the tariff for our people".
Andrei Kobolev, Naftogaz Board Chairman: "Starting this year, we'll have to choose a minimal amount. The price that Gazprom asks for the gas it has to sell to us is very attractive. And we, as a company, understand that we must use this economic benefit".
