* Tymoshenko was jailed over 2009 Russia gas deal
* Says Yanukovich about to give up strategic asset
* Ukraine under pressure from alternative transit routes
KIEV, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko warned President Viktor Yanukovich in an open letter from jail on Monday against selling gas pipelines to Russia, saying such a move would strip Kiev of leverage with Moscow.
Ukraine has sought to negotiate cheaper Russian gas supplies for more than a year and government and industry sources say Moscow insists on getting a stake in Ukrainian pipelines that ship Russian gas to Europe.
Kiev has so far refused to do this but Yanukovich's government is in a difficult position as the price of gas is rising under the current agreement, stretching state finances at a time of global economic downturn.
Ukraine subsidises gas and heating supplies to households so dropping the subsidies would mean political suicide for Yanukovich's Party of the Regions as it prepares for a parliamentary election in October 2012.
"...Don't you dare sell the gas shipping network," Tymoshenko wrote. "This is our last strategic resource."
Yanukovich, who narrowly beat Tymoshenko in the February 2010 presidential election, has accused her of betraying national interests by brokering a 2009 gas deal with Russia under which Ukraine pays a price linked to that of oil. ? Continued...
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