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Ukraine’s PM blames EU for lack of partnership over support of Nord Stream-2 project

Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk called Russia's Nord Stream-2 "an anti-European and anti-Ukrainian project"

© TASS/EPA/FILIP SINGER

KIEV, September 18. /TASS/. Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has accused European energy companies of "relations which are not partner-like towards Ukraine" after they supported the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline project, he said at the Verkhovna Rada parliament on Friday.

"Nord Stream-2 is an anti-European and anti-Ukrainian project," Yatsenyuk said. "If Russia along with certain European companies finishes building Nord Stream-2, Ukraine will lose $2bln annually as our revenues from gas transit stand at $2bln. I think it was not a partner-like step in the situation when Russian and Western companies want to cut off the most direct route of gas to Europe - a safe flow of gas to the European Union - and to get Ukraine, and not just Ukraine, deprived of $2bln."

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Along with this, Slovakia opposes construction of the gas pipeline, Ukraine’s prime minister said adding that at his meeting with Slovakia’s prime minister the latter "made a similar tough statement as the construction of the Nord Stream-2 second stretch would deprive Slovakia of $800mln."

Yatsenyuk urged the European Commission not to permit "Russia’s plans to deprive Ukraine of transit potential and billions of dollars to be implemented."

The Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline project envisages construction of two marine stretches beneath the Baltic Sea. A joint venture - New European Pipeline AG - incorporating Russian Gazprom gas giant (with 51% of shares), German E.ON and BASF/Wintershall, British-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Austrian OMV (with ten percent of shares each) and the French ENGIE (with nine percent) will be in charge of the project implementation.

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Ukraine crisis Nord Stream

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