German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, the $11 billion, 750-mile pipeline that is viewed as an economic threat by Poland, the Baltics and especially Ukraine because it will be capable of doubling, to 110 billion cubic meters annually, the existing capacity to transport Russian gas in a way that bypasses Ukraine’s land-based pipelines.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was present while Merkel delivered her speech at the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 16, after which Ukrainian member of parliament Svitlana Zalishchuk asked Merkel why she doesn’t see the Kremlin’s motivations for Nord Stream 2 pipeline as an economic threat analogous to the military threat posed by the “little green men” — the Russian military forces who invaded and took over Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014.
“It is right for Europe to have sovereignty over energy supplies,” she said, while pledging that she would ensure that Russia continues to pump gas destined for Europe through Ukraine — from which Ukraine receives $3 billion, or almost 2 percent of its gross domestic product. In 2018, Ukraine transported 90 billion cubic meters of Russian gas, an amount that is expected to drop when Nord Stream 2 is completed by 2020.
Still, even after Nord Stream 2 comes online, Merkel said: “Ukraine needs to remain a transit country.” She said that, while Poroshenko is “unhappy with me because of Nord Stream, I will see to it that Ukraine gets its gas through the pipeline.”
While she defended Nord Stream 2, Merkel also called for strengthening economic sanctions against Russia for its ongoing war against Ukraine, occupation of Crimea and its blockade of the Azov Sea through the Kerch Strait. But she offered no specifics..
While the German chancellor praised the Minsk agreement, which France and Germany have assisted in negotiating, for achieving “fragile stability” in Ukraine. But she clearly blamed Russia for the ongoing war and called on a coordinated international effort to impose sanctions on the Kremlin.
While acknowledging the disruptive role of Russia, Merkel also called for continuing dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “I cannot have an interest in cutting off all relations,” she said, defending her policy to the Kremlin as “tough on the one hand” while also trying to pursue better relations with Russia.
