An unequal energy partnership between Russia and Ukraine is driving the two former Soviet countries further and further apart, Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov said Friday, according to his spokesman.
"Every day, the unequal gas agreement with Russia is in place it estranges Ukraine and Russia," Azarov said in comments released by his spokesman, Vitaly Lukyanenko. "Temporary one-sided advantages do not allow the building of a long-term relationship, and this gas contract is a constant irritant for the bilateral Russian-Ukrainian relationship."