On March 10 the first deputy head of the Security Service of Ukraine Valerii Khoroshkovsky was searched by customs officers in Boryspil Airport. “On my arrival to the airport they carried out a premeditated provocation: they searched a sample of my things, following the receipt of a letter from an MP. They did not let me read the letter; I got only a glimpse of it,” Khoroshkovsky commented.
Analyzing the situation, it should be mentioned that the conflict of interests in Ukraine is raising more and more questions with each passing day. Khoroshkovsky was glorified when he headed the State Customs Service, whereas today is out of favor with Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. He was appointed first deputy head of the SBU by President Viktor Yushchenko.
The situation changed when, after the Ukraine-Russia gas agreements were signed, Tymoshenko stated that 11 billion cubic meters of gas that belonged to RosUkrEnergo are now state property that needs to get customs clearance. After Khoroshkovsky refused to do this, he in a sense found himself in the presidential camp. Then things began to take off: the SBU searched the Naftohaz Company for documents concerning this gas, Khoroshkovsky and Tymoshenko exchanged accusations, Khoroshkovsky was searched by customs officers in Boryspil Airport, SBU officers came to the Cabinet of Ministers looking for the same documents, and so on.
Who owns 11 billion cubic meters of gas, which remain in Ukrainian storage facilities? If it is Dmytro Firtash’s private property, why does the government “attack” it? If not, could Firtash sue the Naftohas Company in Stockholm court with such a confidence? How should the SBU’s actions be assessed in this situation? Will the Cabinet of Ministers be able to resolve this problem? The expert Oleksandr NARBUT answers The Day’s questions:
“The Ukrainian political elite has problems with maturity. After reaching a certain level, it cannot behave in a professional way. People are not ready to perform their duties, because they don’t understand the nature of their activity. Both Dmytro Firtash and Russian Gazprom have corporative rights for RosUkrEnerho. Therefore, both Firtash and Gazprom benefit from everything that is happening with RosUkrEnerho. Only a naїve person can believe that this is a private debate between Firtash as a shareholder and the government. The government admits that it cares about the national interests, although if it really cared it would hardly sign this entire package of documents of the Ukraine-Russia gas agreement. The SBU actions are not unlawful; they have just received unnecessary publicity.”
Today all sides to the conflict should understand where its escalation may lead to.
