Germany’s new Chancellor faced pressure from other leaders at his first EU summit, demanding that the future of Beixi 2 be part of the “huge price” that Russia will pay when it invades Germany. Ukraine.
Olaf Scholz arriving in Brussels Replacing Angela Merkel Last week, he said his government is committed to protecting European borders because NATO warned that the number of Russian troops mobilized by the Kremlin continued to increase.
“The inviolability of borders is one of the important foundations of world peace Europe And we will work together to ensure that this inviolability is actually maintained intact,” Schultz told reporters.
A few hours later, the German energy regulator said it would not make Decision on certification of Beixi 2, A natural gas pipeline that connects Russia and Germany and bypasses Ukraine, at least until the second half of 2022.
However, some EU leaders are increasingly calling for a stronger message about the Berlin government’s controversial pipeline, including in the case of further military escalation, it may be terminated as a project.
It is expected that the 27 EU heads of state and government will issue a warning in the communiqué at the end of the summit that the EU will pay a “huge and serious price” for this. Russia If it invades Ukraine. But officials and leaders declined to elaborate on the potential impact.
Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš said: “The important thing is that we can also decide to include Beixi 2 on the negotiating table. If military activity increases, the project will be closed.”
Kariņš added that the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, Is using the pipeline as “an extortion against the European Union, falsely stating that if we want more natural gas, we must open it to Beixi 2”.
EU leaders were asked to leave their cell phones outside their meeting room in the Europa building in Brussels because of the discussion on the issue on Thursday night.
Putin has mobilized as many as 175,000 soldiers Located on the northern, eastern and southern borders of Ukraine, The Kremlin accused NATO of “provocative” exercises near the border to necessitate military buildup.
Russian leaders request Then Withdrawal of the 2008 pledge to recognize Ukraine and Georgia as members of the military alliance is the price he paid to ease the situation.
The EU summit is being held in a place in Brussels, at the headquarters four miles north of NATO, the President of Ukraine, Volodmir Zelensky, Is meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
After the discussion, Stoltenberg insisted that Ukraine’s potential membership is an issue of the Union and Kiev, not the Kremlin.
He said: “We discussed Russia’s massive military build-up in Ukraine and its surrounding areas. There are tens of thousands of combat-ready troops, tanks, artillery, armored units, drones, and electronic warfare systems. We have not seen this accumulation taking place. Signs of stopping or slowing down. On the contrary, it continues.”
Stoltenberg added: “NATO’s support for Ukraine will not pose a threat to Russia. Ukraine has the right to choose its own security arrangements. This is the basic principle of European security.
“The decision on whether Ukraine can join NATO will be made by Ukraine and the 30 NATO allies alone.”
The Kremlin said it has submitted a draft document outlining the security arrangements it hopes to negotiate with the United States and its allies. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Russian high-level envoy is ready to go to neutral countries immediately for talks on the proposal.
At the same time, after China imposed economic sanctions on its companies, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda is expected to seek EU support at the summit. Taiwan opens a representative office in Vilnius.
The Lithuanian diplomatic mission to China also left the country on suspicion of “intimidation” on Wednesday. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday that concerns about the safety of Lithuanian diplomats in China are unfounded.
