The German Ambassador broke up Poroshenko
Ukrainian politicians should clarify what exactly they mean when they say that “Ukraine’s gas transportation system and transit through it protect Ukraine from Russian invasion.”
Ernst Reichel, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany to Ukraine, announced this at a press conference in Kyiv, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“The argument I hear is that when Russia is not dependent on transit through Ukraine, Russia will be able to attack without any obstacle.
The first thing that can be said is that you already felt that the continuation of gas transit did not prevent the occupation of Crimea and the war in the East. So where does this argument come from?
I am sure that there are many threats from that side that Russia will go further. What makes you think today that something will hold Russia back, that this gas transportation system will keep it from attacking?
The gas pipeline cannot become a physical obstacle to Russia’s attack on Ukraine, to its attack. This gas pipeline was modernized with German assistance. It cannot be a physical obstacle; it lies underground.
If we hear statements like this, that this is a national security issue, let's be more specific, more specific with the facts of what we specifically mean. We have to say then we have a better chance of reaching an understanding,” he said.
The topic of the GTS as a defense against Russian aggression was raised at parliamentary hearings in March. Then the secretary of the committee on the fuel and energy complex, Victoria Voitsitskaya, stated that “the very fact of transit of natural gas through the Ukrainian gas transportation system is perhaps the most
the main factor restraining full-scale military aggression on the part of Russia.”
Later, Verkhovna Rada Speaker Andriy Parubiy repeatedly spoke about this, which gives reason to consider this position official.
The first statement of this kind was probably the statement by Deputy Minister for “temporarily occupied territories and internally displaced persons” Yuriy Grymchak on the ZIK TV channel in January of this year.
Grymchak implied that the Ukrainian authorities could blow up the gas pipeline in the event of a large-scale attack from Russia.
“In 2015, the state had plans to undermine the gas pipeline. One of the reasons why we do not have a large-scale war is the gas pipelines that run through the territory of Ukraine. And, if there were no these gas pipelines, then we could move on. And this is one of those options why we are fighting today, the way we are fighting,” the official said.
Thus, from the point of view of the Ukrainian authorities, the GTS “protects” Ukraine as a means of blackmail by stopping gas transit.
German Ambassador Frustrates Poroshenko