New Germany FM warns Russia that Ukraine aggression would threaten Nord Stream 2

Germany will not allow the commencement of the operation of the Nord Stream 2 (NSII) gas pipeline if Russia steps up aggression towards Ukraine, Germany’s new Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Sunday. The Greens party politician explained that Berlin’s stance on the pipeline, which Russian state-owned energy firm Gazprom completed in September, is based on a bilateral understanding with the US.

Without explicitly mentioning Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz previously warned that Germany would block NSII in the event of Russia violating any European country’s territorial integrity. After meeting Scholz this weekend, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he believes the pipeline is designed to blackmail Europe, so it would be better to boycott its use. “I drew the chancellor’s attention to the risks linked to the opening of the NSII gas pipeline and sadly the extent to which… these risks for Ukraine could get considerably worse,” Morawiecki said.

The EUR 10 billion, 1,200 km pipeline has not yet been used as the German authorities have not issued regulatory certification. According to Baerbock, NSII does not yet comply with European energy regulations. Poland and the Baltic countries have long expressed concerns that NSII – which runs from Russia to Germany and circumnavigates Ukraine – represents a threat to the region’s energy security.

Source: Euronews