Tymo Seeks $5B Loan from Russia to Plug Budget Holes

At a time when Russia is nearly suing Ukraine — thus eroding Tymoshenko’s reassurance that neither side would sue the other — Tymoshenko decides to borrow some money from Russia.

Instead of heeding the call to balance the budget, voiced by President Yushchenko and Finance Minister Pynzenyk, she takes her business elsewhere.

On Thursday, she sent a delegation to Moscow angling for a loan of $5B at an interest rate of LIBOR +8 to +9% for a period of 5 to 7 years, Dzerkalo Tyzhnia reports. Ukrayinska Pravda obtained a copy of the delegation's directives.

In Ukraine, the buck never stops. In Russia, they made big bucks during the oil boom. Like the IMF, they know what they want, and their interests never stop with the interest rate.

As a condition of granting the loan, Moscow requests the following:

• Ratification of the so called “zero option” agreement whereby Russia assumes liability for all debts owed by the USSR while the other former Soviet republics abandon their respective claims on assets owned by the USSR

• Resolution of disputes concerning Ukraine’s claims on Soviet property abroad and Russia’s claims on property in Ukraine

• Recognition of debts owed by Ukrainian enterprises to Vneshekonombank as government debt

Is that too much to ask? Tymoshenko doesn’t think so.

So there she is, beating a path to Putin’s door, trading favors, and doing whatever it takes to get the presidency — whatever the cost.

It must have been the missing link in her Ukrainian Breakthrough program.

Tymoshenko has admitted to getting Russia's approval for the loan, but has denied accepting the conditions listed above.

"It's not true," she said, despite the “zero option” being clearly stated as No. 11 in the directives.

Sources:
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2009/2/7/89267.htm
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2009/2/7/89279.htm
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2009/2/7/89285.htm
http://www.dt.ua/2000/2020/65376/

Pynzenyk Memo Divides Cabinet

The Pynzenyk memo refers to a written wake-up call from Finance Minister Viktor Pynzenyk that extrapolates current economic data and warns of an impending economic meltdown.

Leaked to the media, the memo created negative publicity for Premier Tymoshenko and even inspired President Yushchenko to quote it in his recent address.

From day one, spokespersons for Tymoshenko have denied the memo's authenticity. And so did Vice Premier Oleksandr Turchynov, on Wednesday:

It surprises me when such a responsible person as the President draws his conclusions regarding the state of the budget based on reports from the Internet. I am not aware of any such official letter from the Minister of Finance, and that upon this letter, with such-and-such addressor and addressee, the head of state’s conclusions could be based. That is, [we’re dealing with] the Internet, that is, [we’re dealing with] some other opinion, which has nothing to do with reality or with what’s going on in the government.

However, at least two senior government officials had already confirmed the report, speaking on last Friday’s “Svoboda” talk show on Inter.

The “whistleblowers” are: Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, who backs Tymoshenko, and Customs-Chief-Cum-Deputy-SBU-Director Valeriy Khoroshkovsky, backed by Yushchenko.

Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko: There’s nothing secret or extraordinary about this document. Every Cabinet member got one on their desk. Nobody forbade it from being sent, contrary to what some media outlets have written about it, and the way you’re now emphasizing the word secrecy is divorced from reality.

Talk show host: What’s your take on…

Lutsenko: It’s a working document of the Ministry of Finance, just like all other documents at the Ministry of the Interior, at the Ministry of Economy, and at the Ministry Transport.

Deputy SBU Director Valeriy Khorshkovsky: Yes, I’ve seen this memo. Moreover, we even discussed it with the Finance Minister, and I want to say that I even made certain amendments because some of the figures there were beyond my comprehension. Uh...it’s a real document...uh...frankly, I don’t know why it has stirred up such a commotion because, frankly, all that’s in there is a systemic look at all the problems that have been piling up during a rather long period of time.

So which one of them is not telling the truth?

Not only do they have conflicts of info in the Cabinet, but they also seem to have conflicts of interest.

Tymoshenko has admitted to “inviting” what she called “foreign investors” to participate in the Inter acquisition talks. Earlier, Khoroshkovsky, who calls himself the channel’s official owner, mentioned in an interview that Tymoshenko had expressed interest to buy Inter.

Khoroshkovsky, in his own words, had insisted that the money should be “clean,” citing transparency concerns arising from the channel’s IPO preparations. This requirement had upset Tymoshenko. “Actually, it was after this that talk of some investors began,” Khoroshkovsky said.

Tymoshenko links Inter to Firtash and accuses the channel of bias and propaganda, a claim not without foundation. Firtash owns an option to buy a 50% stake in U.A. Inter Media Group Limited, which controls Inter.

On Thursday, the Party of Regions, whose MPs have lobbied on behalf of RosUkrEnergo, failed to gather enough votes to sack Tymoshenko, after calling her on the carpet in the Verkhovna Rada.

Video uploaded from: http://censor.net.ua/go/offer/ResourceID/112160.html
Original source: http://inter.ua
Other sources:
http://www.epravda.com.ua/publications/497ee1f14c7d6/
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2009/2/4/89079.htm
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2009/2/3/89038.htm
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2009/1/27/88590.htm