German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Sunday (August 22) to reach an agreement to extend Russia’s gas transportation through Ukraine, trying to reassure Kiev about the upcoming Beixi 2 gas pipeline, which will bypass the country to transport gas To Europe.
Merkel’s visit was carried out two days after she went to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two leaders failed to extend the gas transit agreement between Moscow and Ukraine after it expires in 2024.
“We agree with the Americans that natural gas should not be used as a geopolitical weapon,” she said after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev.
“We made it clear that if pipelines are suspected of being used as weapons, we will take further sanctions within the European framework,” she added.
Merkel said this will also be reflected in the extension of the transit contract through Ukraine, “the sooner the better.”
“Importantly, Ukraine is still a transit country,” the German leader added, saying that negotiations to extend the gas transit agreement are ongoing. Merkel said: “But this is a project that still needs to be gradual and cannot replace natural gas transportation in 2024.”
The Biden administration decided in May not to impose sanctions on pipelines and took a more moderate stance on this issue than former US President Donald Trump. The United States reached an agreement with Merkel on the North Stream issue in July, and some people in Eastern Europe interpreted it as playing with Moscow’s hands.
Merkel stated that she believes that the recent German-US agreement “is a commitment made by the German government to avoid President Zelensky’s fear of energy being used as a weapon.”
The agreement between Merkel and US President Joe Biden includes a promise to help Ukraine continue to collect transit fees after the Beixi Line 2 is put into operation.
But it aroused people’s distrust of Kiev, because the Biden government did not try to terminate the project through sanctions, which was supported by the Ukrainian government.
Kiev strongly opposes the deal, worrying that once the disputed gas pipeline goes online, it will lose Russian gas transportation fees.
Ukraine dissatisfied
Ukrainian President Volodmir Zelensky insisted in a speech with Merkel in Kiev that Nord Stream 2 is a “dangerous weapon” that poses a threat to Europe.
Zelensky said at a joint press conference in Kiev: “I think it is wrong to fail to notice that this is a dangerous weapon, not only for Ukraine but also for Europe as a whole. “
“As for continuing to transit through Ukraine after 2024, I think these things are too general at the moment,” he added, skeptical of Merkel’s guarantee.
Zelensky stated that Ukraine has begun consultations with the European Parliament and the German government on the Beixi 2 pipeline. The energy ministers of the United States, Germany and Ukraine will meet in Kiev on Monday.
In Moscow last week, Merkel stated that she would “fight until the last day of taking office to ensure that Ukraine’s territorial integrity is guaranteed.”
Putin countered that Moscow is preparing to extend the transit agreement beyond 2024, but more details are needed to explain how to do this.
Berlin proposed the possibility of establishing a mechanism to compensate for the loss of Ukrainian income. It also vowed to support Ukraine’s energy diversification, with a total commitment of 1 billion euros for the development of renewable energy projects in the country.
One idea is to use the country’s existing natural gas pipelines to transport hydrogen. Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz and German RWE recently agreed to jointly develop green hydrogen production, storage and transportation.
German summit Attendance
Ukraine will celebrate the 30th anniversary of its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union on August 24 and will host a summit on the lifting of Crimea’s occupation.
Merkel stated that she would not attend the Crimea Platform Summit, a new form of consultation initiated by Kiev aimed at coordinating the international response to the Russian occupation.
When asked if her decision was to please Russia, Merkel said: “This does not indicate this.”
“I have made it clear that we believe that the annexation of Crimea violates international law and nothing has changed. My visit was conducted before the Crimea platform to discuss the Minsk and Normandy agreements,” she said.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas was supposed to attend the meeting and will be replaced by the country’s Minister of Economy, Peter Altmeier.
Merkel said: “Our foreign minister is not coming now. This has nothing to do with our relationship with Russia, but only with the current situation in Afghanistan.”
[Edited by Frédéric Simon]
