Ukraine's foreign minister said Thursday that one of Russia's most ambitious energy projects, the planned South Stream gas pipeline across the Black Sea to Europe, would be "wasteful, unnecessary and totally against the logic of modern economy." The unusually pointed criticism underscored lingering tension between the two former Soviet neighbors over energy despite a marked improvement in overall relations since the election of a Russia-friendly government in Ukraine early this year. Speaking to a group of Western reporters in Moscow, Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Hryshchenko also reaffirmed Ukraine's opposition to a takeover of its state energy firm, Naftogaz, by Russia's OAO Gazprom or a merger of the two as proposed by Moscow. Read the story here.
