EU has one-track solution to Ukraine, Russia says

VIENNA, May 13 (UPI) -- The European Union is pursuing a one-sided policy against Russia by sanctioning entities tied to the energy sector, Russia's deputy foreign minister said.

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the "sanctions express" is "steaming downhill" after EU foreign ministers Monday added 13 individuals and two Crimean energy companies to its list of entities sanctioned because of the ongoing row over Ukraine.

"Our EU colleagues are pursuing a one-sided, one-dimension, unvarying policy that is not worthy of the European Union," he said Tuesday in Vienna, where he's attending multilateral talks over Iran's nuclear program.

A former Soviet republic, Ukraine has tilted toward the EU following a November uprising. In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty to annex the Crimean peninsula, a part of Ukraine since 1954.

Crimean officials have said Russian energy company Gazprom aims to tap into the more than 50 billion cubic feet of gas available in the peninsula.

Gazprom has threatened to cut off the supply of gas through Ukraine by June if it doesn't settle its outstanding gas debt of $3.5 billion. A similar row in 2009 left EU consumers in the cold for weeks as much of their gas runs through the Soviet-era transit network in Ukraine.