Ukraine dismisses Cabinet over gas deal

By Aussiegirl

Never a dull moment over there. The parliament has fired the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, although it is far from clear whether they even have the constitutional power to do so. In the absence of a clear ruling the Cabinet and Prime Minister continue to function. In the meantime, there is confusion as to the duration of the compromise that was reached, and it may be that the agreement on prices will last only until June. Stay tuned. Parliamentary elections are due to be held in three months, and much of this is pre-election positioning and propaganda by various competing parties. What else is new?

Update 4: Ukraine Dismisses Cabinet Over Gas Deal - Forbes.com

Parliament fired the Cabinet Tuesday because of a new deal with Russia that nearly doubled what Ukraine pays for natural gas. Prime Minister Yuri Yekhanurov and the justice minister, however, said the vote was nonbinding and vowed that the current Cabinet would continue working.

"People just wanted to play around, this will have no effect," Yekhanurov told reporters.

"The Cabinet can be formed only after new elections on the basis of a parliamentary coalition, which must be formed by the parliament within a month after the election," Justice Minister Serhiy Holovaty said.

Russia and Ukraine last week ended a bruising public fight over the supply over natural gas to this ex-Soviet republic with a deal with nearly doubles the price of gas for Ukraine. Earlier, Yekhanurov defended the deal, calling it a "compromise" needed to prevent Ukraine from being deprived of gas supplies.

Lawmakers in the 450-seat Verkhovna Rada voted 250-50 with two abstentions to fire Yekhanurov and his Cabinet, but required that the government continue work until a new Cabinet is appointed.