Russia's aggression against Ukraine in the Black Sea has raised to another level in the international arena the issue of the construction of the Nord Stream-2, the Kremlin's noose for the European Union. European officials have already submitted to Parliament a resolution on halting support for the Russian project, but it is only scheduled to be heard in March. UNIAN figured out what Ukraine should expect from a Europe that is constantly "in doubt."
The incident with the seizure of Russian Ukrainian naval boats in the Kerch Strait raised another wave of opposition to the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline bypassing Ukraine. The first country to voice a categorical statement was the United States who called on European countries to finally stop supporting the Gazprom project, set to link the Russian coast with Germany via the Baltic Sea, while leaving the Ukrainian gas transmission system with nothing. “The United States government has taken a very strong position … in support of Ukraine. We would like other countries to do more as well. That is something that’s enshrined in our National Security Strategy, encouraging other countries to help one another around the world so that the United States isn’t completely – I don’t want to say shouldering the burden, but so the United States isn’t handling these issues chiefly alone,” said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert.
According to her, the U.S. government will shortly hold talks on the issue with their European allies. Ukraine's top officials have once again warned the EU of the threat of Nord Stream 2.
President Petro Poroshenko said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin, in the matter of protecting the gas pipeline, could resort to an attack on the Baltic states and Scandinavia. “Putin may decide to defend Nord Stream 2, and therefore decide to attack the Baltic states, the Scandinavian countries [those opposing the project]. There are no 'red lines' for Putin,” Poroshenko said, stressing that in the current situation, it is very important for global security to speak with one voice. Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman called the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project a form of a disguised war against Europe and European consumers. “Nord Stream 2 is a form of disguised war against Europe. We know what it is to be dependent on Russia in energy. We know from our own experience how dangerous it is. Therefore, we are now considering the project as Russia's geopolitical weapon,” Groysman said, adding that Ukraine’s preservation of the status of a priority gas transit country is of great “significance in terms of security and politics" for all of Europe.” The European Union, at first glance, finally took into account all the challenges arising. A resolution has been introduced to the European Parliament, which states that Nord Stream 2 deepens the EU’s dependence on Russian gas supplies, threatens the EU’s internal market, and runs counter to the EU’s energy policy, and therefore needs to be stopped. The European Parliament also emphasizes the need to end the partnership and cooperation agreement that was concluded between the EU and Russia in 1997 and that has been annually extended since then.
According to MEPs, cooperation with Russia remain only in the areas that are necessary and of mutual interest, while security guarantees for the EU and its neighboring countries should be respected.
The document will be reviewed by the European Parliament in March. Meanwhile, Germany, which is more interested in Nord Stream 2 than others, because it will allow them buying Russian gas directly and give it the status of Europe's main gas hub, has remained neutral so far, making some strange statements, to say the least. For example, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas believes that Berlin's refusal from the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will not stop the project, but will reduce the ability to defend the need for gas supplies via Ukraine. Maas says that Nord Stream 2 will be built anyway, but no one will stand for an alternative gas transit route via Ukraine, which is why Germany considers it important to remain "politically active." German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the project exclusively economic and noted that it would be too radical to completely abandon it. However, according to her, Berlin could reduce the volume of gas supplies through the new pipe.
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