Ukraine wants EU to block South Stream

The Ukrainian government calls upon the European Union to block the construction of a joint with Russia gas pipeline South Stream, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk said in parliament on June 3, Ukrinform has reported.

"We believe that South Stream is a project aimed to increase Europe's energy dependence, remove Ukraine from a common energy policy with the EU and strengthen the position of the Russian Gazprom in Europe. Therefore, we call on the European Union to block South Stream," the head of government said.

He noted that before the presidential elections there were two attempted terrorist attacks on the Ukrainian gas transit system in Ivano-Frankivsk region. "The goal of such efforts is to discredit the Ukrainian gas transit system, interrupt transit, prove our Western partners that Ukraine is an unstable state, and legitimize South Stream," Yatseniuk said.

Copyright: Ukrinform, 2014