Ukrainу signed a cooperation agreement with EU on modernizing the system of its pipelines this week, which made Russia angry as it was excluded from the talks.
Yesterday foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko called this agreement "an unfriendly act in relation to Russia by both the European Union and Ukraine".
Earlier Russian PM Vladimir Putin threatened to review ties with the EU if Moscow's interests would continue to be ignored.
The representatives of Russian giant Gazprom were also not satisfied with the proceedings. What's more, Gazprom said that any changes to Ukraine's pipelines would need the company's approval or risk disrupting gas production and output across Eurasia.
Most analysts believe that Russia is mostly dissatified of the EU-Ukraine agreement because it may decrease Gazprom's profits, and in general, make the country less important participant of the gas market. But it is not said out loud.
Apparently, EU members found the way to save money: it is better to repair the existent pipeline system than to construct a new one.
Author: Ksenia Kochneva
