Ukraine Threatens To Take Russia To Court Over ‘Economic Aggression’

Ukraine says Russia’s hikes on gas prices are “economic aggression” and may take them to arbitration.

Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk [pictured] said Russia’s two rate increases in three days were a form of “economic aggression” aimed at punishing Ukraine’s new leaders for overthrowing a Moscow-backed regime last month.

Russia’s natural gas group Gazprom (MCX: GAZP.ME – news) this week raised the price of Ukrainian gas by 81 percent — to $485.50 (354.30 euros) from $268.50 for 1,000 cubic metres — requiring the ex-Soviet state to pay the highest rate of any of its European clients.

The decision threatens to further fan a furious diplomatic row between Moscow and the West that has left Kremlin (Berlin: KMLK.BE – news) insiders facing sanctions and more diplomatic isolation than at any stage since the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.