/ www.vestifinance.ru
Ukraine and Slovakia stand against plans for construction of the second section of Nord Stream 2 pipeline project by Russia’s gas monopoly Gazprom to bypass Ukraine, the presidential press service reported referring to a statement of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia Miroslav Lajcak, who came to Kyiv on a working visit.
"The Ukrainian president and the Slovakian foreign minister emphasized the inadmissibility of the Nord Stream 2 project," the press service reported.
At the same time, Poroshenko thanked Slovakia for increasing the volume of reverse gas supplies to Ukraine.
In addition to gas issues, the parties paid special attention to interaction of the two countries regarding the European integration in the context of Slovakia’s presidency in the EU in the second half of 2016. The parties noted the importance of opening joint checkpoints on the Ukrainian-Slovakian border. It will simplify the border-crossing procedure, as noted in the statement.
The parties also shared opinions on the important bilateral issues and international agenda, particularly the security situation and the implementation of the Minsk agreements. The president emphasized the importance of international unity and solidarity with Ukraine on the necessity of full implementation of the Minsk agreements and prolongation of sanctions against Russia, according to the report.
Read alsoNaftogaz CEO: Nord Stream 2 will kill gas transit via UkraineEarlier, Deputy Prime Minister Lajcak met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, and the two parties also highlighted the inadmissibility of the Nord Stream 2 construction. Yatsenyuk stated his country had filed a complaint against Nord Stream 2 with the Secretariat of the Energy Community, the EU body responsible for relations with the Union’s neighbours.
Read alsoEuropean Parliament calls EU states to avoid building new gas pipeline from RussiaUkraine contends that the project is in breach of EU legislation under the Third Energy Package, and moreover does not respect the Commission’s requirement to ensure increased competition in the EU gas market.