A Blond for the Ukraine!

Tymoshenko Seeks Gas Deal Review

By Simon Saradzhyan
Staff Writer The Moscow Times
with Sergei Chuzavkov / AP

A victorious Yulia Tymoshenko posing after the announcement of a government coalition deal in Kiev on Thursday.

Bloggers insert: Yulia joins a distinguished group of Blonds in Power worldwide who have brians as well as beauty including, Angela Merkel, German Chancellor (although Angela is kind of a frumpy frau); Michelle Blanchete, president of Chili; Sandra Froman, president of the National Rifle Association, among others.

While she is not yet Ukraine's prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko on Thursday began outlining what she wanted to do once in office, beginning with revisiting a Russian gas deal forged after supplies were halted in January.

"I think all issues on gas supplies to Ukraine now require further deep revision and review," Tymoshenko told the parliament in Kiev.

Tymoshenko stressed that "all new relations with Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan should be built on a friendly basis."

But sources close to the Kremlin immediately homed in on Tymoshenko's remarks, warning of a wider energy conflict.

"It is another wake-up call for Europe," Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said. "Realization of the threats voiced today is the path to a new gas crisis."

Political analyst Sergei Markov said: "If Tymoshenko does revise the gas agreements with Russia, this could lead to a widescale war that would engulf the whole of Europe."

Analyst Gleb Pavlovksy added that Tymoshenko was "trying to blackmail Russia and Europe. ... Taking advantage of its transit location, Ukraine wants to steal gas."

Tymoshenko personally announced the formation of the new government -- including her bloc, which is named after her; the Socialist Party; and President Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine -- at the parliament's Thursday session.