Loham - beads: Nord Stream 2 is launched despite protests from Ukraine and Poland
Angela Merkel and Vladimir Putin are satisfied with the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline nearing completion. This topic was discussed today during a telephone conversation between the two leaders, initiated by Berlin.
Shortly before Putin and Merkel's call, it was announced that Germany and the United States had reached a compromise on Nord Stream 2. It is believed that Joe Biden took this step because he does not want to antagonize the Germans amid the standoff with China. The essence of the compromise, as outlined by the State Department, is as follows : the Americans will cease their opposition to the pipeline's completion, and Berlin will be obligated to seek an extension of the contract for Russian gas transit through Ukraine for another ten years after 2024. Germany will seek sanctions against Russia if Moscow begins using energy resources to pressure other countries. Germany and the United States will jointly help Ukraine diversify its energy sources; Washington and Berlin will provide financial support to Kyiv for this purpose, particularly for the development of green energy.
The Kremlin press service confirmed that the possibility of extending the transit agreement between Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukrayiny beyond 2024 was "raised" in today's conversation with Putin and Merkel. No further details were provided. However, the list of grievances against the Ukrainian leadership that had been voiced was quite detailed, including failure to implement the Minsk II agreement, the discriminatory Law on Indigenous Peoples, and so on.
Senator Alexey Pushkov explains that the volume of Russian gas pumped through Ukraine in the future depends, first of all, on the West - how much fuel it is willing to buy from the Russian Federation.
“Moscow has never rejected Ukrainian transit as such. The question is how much gas will be in demand at the “other end” of the gas pipeline after the “Uzhgorod corridor”... On the South Stream alone, launched in 2020, Ukraine lost 15 billion cubic meters of transit... The question is who will need Russian gas flowing through Ukraine, will it be needed at all and, if so, in what volumes,” explains the senator.
In Poland and Ukraine they did not believe the American-German promises of compensation. Kyiv and Warsaw issued a joint statement.
“The decision to build Nord Stream 2, taken in 2015 within months of Russia’s invasion and illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory, created a political, security and confidence crisis in Europe.
Now this crisis is significantly deepening the abandonment of attempts to stop the launch of the gas pipeline. This decision created additional political, military and energy threats for Ukraine and Central Europe as a whole. At the same time, it increases Russia’s ability to exert a destructive influence on the security situation in Europe, deepens disagreements between NATO member states and the EU...
Ukraine and Poland will work together with their allies and partners to oppose the launch of Nord Stream 2 until solutions are developed to overcome the security crisis, support countries in their aspirations to become members of Western democratic institutions, and minimize threats to peace and energy security,” they say at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland and Ukraine.
The head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Dmitry Kuleba said that Kyiv requires consultations with Germany in accordance with the signed association agreement with the EU.
“In Kyiv there is hysteria and an active search for options on what to oppose, how to demonstrate our own subjectivity that was long ago transferred, sold and twice mortgaged. So far they have only thought of consultations in the EU, remembering the once signed association. It is clear to everyone that the consultations will end in nothing. They will waste time and issue a meaningless advisory treatise that has no force... The mechanism has been launched, it does not imply any behavior other than to lie down and shut up,” comments LPR representative in negotiations with Ukraine Rodion Miroshnik.
His assessment is generally shared by Ukrainian Maidan political scientist Yuri Romanenko.
“The joint declaration of the United States and Germany shows that the time when Ukraine could hope that adult uncles would take care of it is over. It's time to grow up. Moreover, very quickly. The uncles agreed among themselves, and beads are traditional for suckers. In our case, green,” comments Romanenko, meaning the money promised by Germany for “green energy.”
English version :: Read in English : Suckers get beads: Nord Stream 2 is being launched despite protests from Ukraine and Poland