President: Nord Stream 2 is Kremlin’s dangerous geopolitical weapon

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that Nord Stream 2 is a dangerous geopolitical weapon used by the Russian Federation.

"Energy security and Nord Stream 2 were important issues of our talks. We see this project exclusively through the prism of security and consider it a dangerous geopolitical weapon used by the Kremlin," Zelensky said at a joint briefing with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

As reported, German Chancellor Angela Merkel makes a visit to Ukraine on August 22. Zelensky and Merkel last met during the state visit of the President of Ukraine to Germany on July 12.

In July, the United States and Germany reached an agreement to settle a dispute over the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The agreement stipulates that Washington renounces its intention to impose sanctions on participants in the Nord Stream 2 project, while the possibility of EU sanctions on Moscow remains if Russia uses the pipeline as an instrument of energy pressure. The agreement also states the intention to maintain gas transit through Ukraine. Germany promised to use all the levers to persuade Russia to extend the agreement on gas transit through Ukraine, which expires at the end of 2024.

Nord Stream 2 is a Russian gas pipeline built bypassing Ukraine. It is laid through the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. The sole shareholder of the project is PJSC Gazprom.

Photo credit: President’s Office

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