Russian gas transit through Ukraine will be continued after the establishment of the Nord Stream 2, if it is economically reasonable, as Vladimir Putin, Russia’s President, stated at the meeting with Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, Interfax reports.
“I would like to emphasize that the transit will be continued if it is economically reasonable for the parties of the economic activity,” Putin noted.
According to him, Russia has always considered the Nord Stream 2 as an economic project and Moscow is ready to conduct talks with the Ukrainian side on this issue.
At the same time, Angela Merkel stated that after the construction of the Nord Stream 2 Ukraine’s role as a transit state should be preserved.
“It has a strategic importance and Germany is ready to contribute into this and influence this. We need to consider the guarantees for Ukraine as well,” she said.
Earlier, Sigmar Gabriel, Germany’s Foreign Minister, stated that the implementation of the Nord Stream 2 project will be challenging unless the gas transit through Ukraine to Europe is preserved.
Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine’s President, offered Germany an alternative to the Nord Stream 2, stating that the project is economically unreasonable. He offered gas transit through Ukraine.
Earlier, Poroshenko described Russia as an extremely non-reliable partner, adding that the implementation of Nord Stream II would lead to the economic and power isolation of Ukraine.
As we reported the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has begun in Germany on May 3. Not all countries have given the permission for it; at the same time, Ukraine and Poland protest against the construction as it can strengthen Russia’s positions as the gas monopolist in Europe.
Earlier it was reported that all necessary permits needed for the project have also been received in Germany. The national permitting procedures in the other three countries along the route – Russia, Sweden and Denmark – are proceeding as planned.
Russia’s leading energy enterprise Gazprom and its partners intend to start implementing the Nord Stream-2 project worth almost 10 billion euros in April 2018. The 1,200-kilometers-long pipeline is to be laid through the Baltic Sea, linking Russia and Germany – bypassing Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltic States. The capacity will be twice larger than that of Nord Stream-1. The construction is to be complete by late 2019.
