Ukraine and Poland criticize US-Germany agreement on Nord Stream 2 / Article

The Ukrainian and Polish governments have expressed concern about the US-German agreement not to obstruct the completion and commissioning of the Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2. Kiev and Warsaw believe that this step will be detrimental to European security.

“The decision to build Nord Stream 2 was taken in 2015 just a few months after Russia invaded and illegally annexed Ukrainian territory, causing a security, confidence and political crisis in Europe.” shall be indicated in the joint statement Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitro Kuleb and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Zbigniew Rau.

“The crisis has now deepened significantly, with the abandonment of attempts to halt the launch of Nord Stream 2.

This decision poses a political, military and energy threat to Ukraine and Central Europe, while increasing Russia’s chances of destabilizing the security situation in Europe, exacerbating the divisions between NATO and European Union member states. “

After lengthy discussions, the United States and Germany have reached a compromise on the controversial Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2. Washington and Berlin have agreedthat the gas pipeline bypassing Ukraine to Germany will be completed without the threat of further US sanctions, but sanctions will be imposed on Russia if it uses gas supplies as a political weapon and threatens Ukraine.

The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea will double Russian gas exports to Germany. This has long been a source of disagreement among allies, with Central Europe, the Baltic states, Ukraine and the United States criticizing it as a project that will give Moscow leverage of political influence by bypassing Ukraine.

The Kremlin has denied the allegations and the pipeline is now almost complete.

Although the US government remains critical of it, the administration of President Joe Biden has reached a compromise in an effort to re-establish ties with Germany that were broken during Donald Trump.

“This is a bad situation and a bad pipeline, but we must help protect Ukraine. And I believe that with this agreement, we have taken some important steps in that direction, ”said Victoria Nulanda, the US Under Secretary of State.

The agreement will allow the gas pipeline to be completed without the threat of further US sanctions.

Germany is committed to imposing sanctions on Russia, among other things, if it tries to use energy as a political weapon, blackmails Ukraine or otherwise aggressively targets Kiev. Berlin is also committed to doing its utmost to ensure that Russia’s gas transit agreement with Ukraine is extended beyond 2024.

Germany has also promised significant sums of money to Ukraine to reduce its dependence on Russia and facilitate the transition to green energy.

Biden hopes that in this way he will be able to solve the White House’s foreign policy dilemma.

“Nord Stream is 99 percent complete. It is an unrealistic idea that something can be announced or done to stop it. But Angela Merkel and I had a very good discussion, ”says Biden.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Biden at the White House last week. She saw the agreement reached as a good compromise.

“I believe that this joint statement will set the right priorities for the situation in Ukraine, which we support and which I have always supported personally. Therefore, I believe that this joint statement is also good for Ukraine, ”says Merkel.

Kiev officials have a different opinion on this situation, as Ukraine is threatened not only by the loss of significant amounts of gas transit duties. Ukraine is also concerned about Russia’s full-scale invasion of its territory when Nord Stream 2 becomes operational.

CONTEXT:

Opponents of Nord Stream 2 are concerned that the pipeline will increase the European Union’s dependence on Russian gas supplies, providing Moscow with political leverage as well as a tool for potential power outages. Baltic officials have also been critical of Nord Stream 2, stressing that it is a geopolitical project and runs counter to the objectives of the European Energy Union.

The 1,230-kilometer pipeline is expected to supply up to 55 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas to Germany each year. The project is planned to be completed at the end of August, so that it will start using Russian gas to Europe this year.