A kindNgela Merkel (ngela Merkel) may have met with the President of Ukraine as prime minister for the last time on Monday- Volodymyr Serensky That night, after visiting Federal President Steinmeier and others, she came to the Chancellery. This meeting is closely related to another date on this week’s prime minister’s calendar: Thursday’s trip to Washington, which is the first time since Joe Biden hosted there.
This connection is an issue that strains Germany’s relations with Ukraine and with the United States: the Baltic Sea Pipeline Beixi 2The natural gas pipeline has been built by a subsidiary of the Russian state-owned company Gazprom for many years and is clearly nearing completion. Matthias Warnig, CEO of Nord Stream 2, just told the German Business Daily that this work may be completed by the end of August.
Selenski Biden Believing that the Russian Baltic Sea pipeline is more than an economic project, as Merkel repeatedly said in her defense. Zelensky’s country still has Moscow-controlled intervention forces in the east. It was invaded by Russia in 2014. In an interview with FAZ in early June, he said: Beixi is a “weapon” against his country, and more “very sharp” “.
Is there another war in eastern Ukraine?
The reason is this: Russia makes a living by exporting natural gas to Europe, and its most important transportation route currently passes through Ukraine. Therefore, it is risky for Russia to reignite the war against Kiev. It has been in a semi-strength state for several years. With the Beixi Line 2 in the Baltic Sea, Moscow can no longer use the Ukrainian line.
You see it the same way in Washington.Under the president Donald Trump The United States imposed sanctions on companies involved in the construction of North Stream II, and Biden also considered the project to be a “bad deal.” Therefore, the US State Department discovered in May that Nord Stream 2 and its boss Warnig may be subject to sanctions. However, because Biden wanted to maintain good relations with Germany, Foreign Minister Anthony Brinken temporarily suspended the implementation of punitive measures. For Merkel, who has been supporting the project with SPD, it is important to find a way to reassure everyone.
The idea that the federal government initially relied on was to make the opening of Beixi 2 subject to conditions: if Russia extends its existing transit contract with Ukraine, the new pipeline should only be online. It will expire at the end of 2024, after which Kiev will face the threat of huge losses in transit fees.
Government spokesman Steffen Seibert recently pointed out that the current agreement can extend it to 2034. However, it is questionable whether Russia will agree to this. Putin recently stated that if Kiev shows “goodwill” and does not use future income to defend himself, he can only envisage an extension. From the perspective of Kiev, this is almost unacceptable.
Therefore, a new idea may become important: It has recently been heard from several sources that Ukraine can reassign its transportation routes: these pipelines can transport green hydrogen in the post-fossil future, instead of Russian natural gas. Ukraine, the largest country in Europe, will soon be able to use wind and solar energy to mass-produce it and help Europe achieve its climate goals. This may be an attractive prospect for Ukraine, especially since the natural gas transportation business may end at the latest when Europe achieves its goal of achieving climate neutrality by the middle of the century.
