... Russia," and "at the moment Russia is not a partner (of the EU), but a strategic country and a neighbor, above all of Ukraine."5
This is, however, only a small part of the story and there are other angles to explore. Let us turn our attention ... ... Partnership or TTIP is a trade agreement proposal currently under negotiation, which aims to create an area of free trade between the European Union and the United States. In June 2013, the EU gave directives to its delegations to handle the talks6, but the progress ...
... round of talks between Russia, Ukraine and the EU, which are currently being held in Berlin[13]. The three-party conference, a diplomatic turning point Among other topics, the meeting is centered on the discussion of issues concerning the gas price for Ukraine and its impending debt. The European Union might be trying to put obstacles to the South Stream project in order to grant concessions for Ukraine, most likely in view of its association with the EU. This is quite evidently a dangerous bargaining position. On one side South Stream aims to assure a steady provision of gas to the EU itself,...
... new market outlets is far from being its priority goal. Its main purpose is to redirect gas transit flows via Ukraine (according to the Ukrainian data, 86.1 billion metric tons in 2013 against 119.6 billion m3 in 2008), bypassing the latter.
Today the European Union is facing an unconventional choice. The first option is to “bury” the South Stream Project for the purpose of rendering political and economic support to Ukraine. The other option is to allow the South Stream Project be implemented, thereby avoiding such risks. At the same time, this scenario will significantly undermine the economic situation in Ukraine as well as strengthen Russia's position in the Balkans....
