German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended a compromise arrangement with the US that will allow the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline to transfer fuel from Russia to Germany to be completed without further American penalties.
Even though the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 project, which is 98 percent built, will transit Ukraine and Poland, she called the accord between Berlin and Washington “excellent for Ukraine.” Germany and the United States have stated their commitment to preventing Moscow from using the new line as a political weapon to restrict energy supply to Europe.
Despite their dissatisfaction with the agreement, Germany and the United States agreed to fund alternative energy and economic projects in Ukraine and Poland, claiming that it was insufficient to eliminate the threat of Russian energy control.
“There are still differences. That was evident in yesterday’s reactions “Merkel told reporters in Berlin that the accord had been met with opposition in the US Congress.
In a joint statement, Ukraine’s and Poland’s foreign ministries said the German-US pact posed a “political, military, and energy threat to Ukraine and Central Europe,” while also enhancing Russia’s ability to disrupt Europe’s security situation.
Republican and Democratic politicians both expressed their displeasure. “The president is giving Russia a new geopolitical weapon,” Republican Senator John Barrasso said at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting.
Despite Germany’s commitment to invest $245 million in Ukraine’s new energy development, Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen questioned its significance.
Russian President Vladimir Putin “has made it obvious via his statements and actions that he will defy any limits imposed by the West in order to achieve the Kremlin’s objective,” according to Shaheen, who has supported Nord Stream 2 sanctions legislation.
The chairman of Ukraine’s state-owned energy business, Naftogaz, Yuriy Vitrenko, appeared to agree. While speaking with senators on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, he told VOA’s Ukrainian Service that Putin no longer takes the demands of Western leaders seriously.
“If the physical supply of [Russian] gas via Ukraine is interrupted, the risk of full-scale Russian military aggression increases significantly,” Vitrenko added. “If the military activities have no impact on European consumers, Russia will not anticipate much from Europe [beyond] statements of grave concern.”
“Let’s be honest,” he continued. “Let us anticipate hazards and prevent them from occurring, or we will find ourselves in a situation where we have no choice but to express our grave concern, as we have with the occupation of Crimea and sections of Donetsk and Luhansk.”
However, President Joe Biden’s administration, seeking to mend ties with Germany that had been strained by former President Donald Trump, claimed the pipeline’s development was too far along at this stage to be abandoned.
Merkel said Germany now has “a lot of work” to do, but expressed optimism that it will be able to extend a current arrangement for the passage of Russian gas via Ukraine, which pays Kyiv billions of dollars in transit costs but ends in 2024. Germany also wants to create a “reverse flow” of gas from European supply lines to Ukraine.
“We are not absolutely defenceless” against Russia, Merkel said, adding that fresh sanctions might be imposed if Moscow imposes disproportionate constraints on European energy supplies.
