The Russian Ukrainian Naval Base for Gas treaty, widely referred to as the Kharkiv Accords (Russian: Харьковские соглашения)[1][2][3] or the Kharkiv Pact (Ukrainian: Харківський пакт)[4][5] in the Russian and Ukrainian media, is a treaty between Ukraine and Russia whereby the Russian lease on naval facilities in Crimea would be extended beyond 2017 by 25 years (to 2042) with an additional 5 year renewal option (to 2047) in exchange for a multiyear discounted contract to provide Ukraine with Russian natural gas. The agreement, signed on 21 April 2010 in Kharkiv, Ukraine, by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and Russian President Dimitry Medvedev and ratified by the parliaments of the two countries on 27 April 2010, aroused much controversy in Ukraine.
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In 1997, Russia and Ukraine signed the Partition Treaty, establishing two independent national fleets and dividing armaments and bases between them.[6] Ukraine also agreed to lease major parts of its new bases in Sevastopol to the Russian Black Sea Fleet until 2017. During the presidency of Victor Yushchenko the Ukrainian government declared that the lease will not be extended and that the fleet will have to leave Sevastopol by 2017.[7]
Amid several Russia–Ukraine gas disputes, including a halt of natural gas supplies to European countries, the price that Ukraine had to pay for Russian natural gas was raised in 2009[8] and 2006.[9]
The Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mykola Azarov, and the Energy Minister, Yuriy Boyko, were in Moscow in late March 2010 to negotiate lower gas prices; neither clearly explained what Ukraine was prepared to offer in return.[10] Following these talks Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin stated that Russia was prepared to discuss the revision of the price for natural gas it sells to Ukraine.[11] Mid-April Ukrainian officials stated they are seeking an average price of $240–$260 per 1000 cubic metres for 2010.[12] Ukraine paid an average of $305 in the first quarter of 2010 and $330 in the second quarter.[12]
On 21 April 2010, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych signed an agreement[13] in which Russia agreed to a 30% drop in the price of natural gas sold to Ukraine. Russia agreed to this in exchange for permission to extend Russia's lease of a major naval base in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Sevastopol for an additional 25 years (to 2042) with an additional 5 year renewal option (to 2047).[14]
"We have indeed reached an unprecedented agreement," the Russian president stated. "The rent [for the naval base] will be increased by an amount equivalent to that of the [gas price] discount."[13]
The agreement was subject to approval by both the Russian and Ukrainian parliaments.[14] They did ratify the agreement on 27 April 2010.[15] The Ukrainian parliament ratified it after several eggs were thrown towards the speaker, Volodymyr Lytvyn, by deputies and other incidents.[16][17][18] Opposition members in Ukraine and Russia expressed doubts the agreement would be fulfilled by Ukraine side.[15][19] According to Yanukovych the only way out of holding the state budget deficit down, as requested by the International Monetary Fund, while protecting pensioners and minimal wages, was to extend the Russian Navy lease in Crimea in exchange for cheaper natural gas.[20] Opposition members in Ukraine described the agreement as a "sell out of national interests".[20]
At 10:40, while most of deputies were out of their seats, the voting screen showed the number 236. During the voting, half of deputies of Party of Regions (PR) were out of their seats blocking the podium. For the ratification were 160 members of PR, including Rinat Akhmetov, who was not present in the session hall. Among the opposition parties, the ratification was approved by nine members of BYuT and seven from Our Ukraine. All members to the last from the Communist Party of Ukraine and Lytvyn Bloc voted for the Kharkiv Pact as well. Of those who did not belong to a faction, only Taras Chornovil, Oleksandr Fomin, and Ihor Rybakov did not support the agreement.[21]
| Faction | Number of deputies | For | Against | Abstained | Didn't vote | Absent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party of Regions Faction | 161 | 160 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc | 154 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 145 |
| Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc | 72 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65 |
| Communist Party of Ukraine Faction | 27 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lytvyn Bloc | 20 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No faction affiliated | 16 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| All factions | 450 | 236 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 212 |
According to former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko the agreement violates part of the Ukrainian Constitution, which forbids the country from hosting foreign military bases after 2017.[13] The Chairman of the Ukrainian Constitutional Court said on 23 April that only the President and the Cabinet of Ministers can request a court ruling on constitutionality.[23] Our Ukraine called for the impeachment of President Yanukovych for violating the Ukrainian Constitution.[24]
Prime Minister Putin opined that the price Russia was asked to pay was exorbitant and remarked, "No military base in the world is worth that much money. We could build several such bases for that amount."[25] Boris Nemtsov, former leader of the Union of Right Forces, said that Russia needed the Black Sea fleet in Crimea for war with Georgia and asked rhetorically if war with Georgia was worth $40 billion.[26]
In June 2010, Ukraine pays Gazprom around $234 per 1,000 cubic metres.[27] Still, Ukrainian consumers experienced a 50% increase on household natural gas utility prices in July 2010 (a key demand of the International Monetary Fund in exchange of a $15 billion loan).[28][29] In August 2011, Ukraine paid Russia $350 per 1,000 cubic metres[30]; in November 2011 it paid $400 per 1,000 cubic meters.[31] Since August 2011 Ukraine seeks to reduce imports of Russian natural gas by two-thirds (compared with 2010) in 2016.[30]