Ukraine, Poland say Nord Stream 2 threatens Central Europe

The foreign ministers of Ukraine and Poland said on Wednesday that the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline led to new “political, military and energy threats” for Ukraine and Central Europe.

In a joint statement, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and his Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau slammed a decision to stop fighting the controversial pipeline which is nearing completion.

“Such a decision has created additional political, military and energy threats for Ukraine and Central Europe on the whole,” they said.

Earlier on Wednesday, the United States announced it had reached an agreement with Germany on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would threaten Russia with sanctions and seek to extend the transit of gas through Ukraine.

The Kremlin said that the leaders of Russia and Germany, Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel, were both “satisfied” with the pipeline’s near competition.

Germany also said it would use all leverage to persuade Russia to extend by up to 10 years a gas transit agreement through Ukraine that is set to expire at the end of 2024.

Germany has also promised $1 billion for Ukraine to transition to green energy and reduce dependence on Russia, a US official said.

But Kuleba and Rau said their two countries would work with their allies to fight the launch of the pipeline until the current crisis could be solved.

They also said that the current Western proposals did not seem sufficient to minimise the threats from the Russian pipeline.

“We are calling on the United States and Germany to treat in an adequate manner the security crisis in our region whose sole beneficiary is Russia,” the joint statement said.

Separately, the Polish foreign ministry also tweeted saying Nord Stream 2 was “a political project that threatens the security not only of Ukraine but also of the EU.”