The prime ministers of Ukraine and Slovakia have condemned a recent deal to expand the current Nord Stream pipeline that delivers natural gas directly from Russia to Western Europe.
Following the two leaders’ meeting in Bratislava on September 10, Slovakia’s Robert Fico said the deal was a betrayal, while his Ukrainian counterpart, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, called the plan "an anti-European and anti-Ukrainian project."
Yatsenyuk said his country would lose $2 billion and Slovakia $800 million in transit fees if the project, known as Nord Stream-2, is implemented.
Last week, Russian giant Gazprom and energy companies from Western EU countries signed a shareholders' agreement on the plan to expand the pipeline that runs beneath the Baltic Sea to Germany.
The project has also been criticized by Poland.