The Ukrainian government hopes to persuade voters to accept a loss of control over the national gas transit system, if Russian gas can be bought at $200 per one thousand cubic meters in the cash component of the price. The barter component of the price in the form of assets would in that case become less visible; and the issue of transferring additional assets to pay for Russian gas in the future could be postponed.
Vladimir Socor in Eurasia Daily Monitor (Volume 7, Issue 64, "Ukrainian Government Examines Belarusian Model of Gas Trade With Russia", sorry no link) on the possibility of the gas transit system being taking over by Gazprom. Besides getting cheaper gas price the Russians would also make it easier to control Ukraine. By controlling GTS the Russians could prevent the Ukrainians form siphoning off gas like they've done in the previous two gas disputes. As Socor notes, its making a huge sacrifice in lieu of reforming the energy sector with EU assistance.
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