Lavrov Says Ukraine's Neutrality Important, Lambasts U.S.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Ukraine's unity and neutrality are in Russia's interests.
In an interview on April 22 with Moscow-based radio stations Ekho Moskvy, Govorit Moskva and Sputnik, Lavrov said "it's in our interest not to divide Ukraine; it's in our interests to keep it neutral, primarily in a military-political sense."
Lavrov added that Russia wants "Ukraine to be peaceful and quiet" and not "dismembered" by some European countries "that once gave some of their territories to the current Ukrainian state after World War II."
Lavrov also said the United States is using the Ukrainian crisis to reach its "strategic goal" to "hinder the development of Russia's cooperation with the EU, especially with Germany."
He expressed doubts about the effectiveness of the U.S. program to assist Ukraine's Army with instructors, claiming that such attempts were unsucessful in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Based on reporting by Ekho Moskvy and Interfax
EU opens antitrust case against Russia's Gazprom gas giant
BRUSSELS (AP) -- The European Union is opening an antitrust case against Russia's state-controlled Gazprom energy giant amid worsening relations between Brussels and Moscow.
EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said Wednesday that Gazprom's behavior in central and eastern European member states, where it sometimes almost fully controls the gas market, amounts to an abuse of its dominant position.
Vestager said she is concerned that Gazprom imposes contractual obligations "preventing gas from flowing from certain Central Eastern European countries to others, hindering cross-border competition" and allowing the multinational to charge unfair prices.
The move comes at a time when the EU has already imposed economic and political sanctions on Russia for its involvement in the violence in eastern Ukraine.
Gazprom has 12 weeks to react to Wednesday's EU allegations.
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (CLICK TO ENLARGE):
