Ukraine and the European Union signed a cooperation declaration on Monday to modernize the ex-Soviet state's gas pipeline network. Russia, which transits about 80% of its Europe-bound gas via Ukraine, said it was excluded from the talks in Brussels.
The EU endorsed Ukraine's plan to modernize its Soviet-era pipelines and underground storages and build new gas metering stations, for which Europe pledged $3.4 billion and to encourage more investment on the condition Kiev reform the sector to make it more open and transparent.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that the declaration signed between the EU and Ukraine "raises questions", therefore, until Russia receives the answers, the government consultion won't take place.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is cited as saying: "For our inter-government consultations to be effective, we need to clarify the situation."
On Monday, Putin threatened to review ties with the EU if it continued to ignore Russia's interests.
Author: Ksenia Kochneva
