Naftogaz CEO Kobolyev, U.S. officials discuss Nord Stream 2

He stated this during his meeting with Trump administration officials and members of Congress in Washington, D.C., reads a report posted on the Naftogaz official website.

“Nord Stream II would not only be a blow to the Ukrainian economy and leave countries in Central and Eastern Europe vulnerable to Russian blackmail, it would take away Russia’s only incentive to keep some level of stability in eastern Ukraine. Right now, Russia needs to transit gas through Ukraine to make money by selling it on the European market. But if Nord Stream II is built, Russia will no longer have to rely on Ukraine’s gas transit system. These new conditions would allow Moscow to launch a full-scale war in eastern Ukraine. The United States must now allow such a situation to emerge,” Kobolyev said at a meeting with Senator Chris Murphy (the Democratic Party, Connecticut), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Europe Subcommittee

Kobolyev thanked Trump administration officials and members of Congress for their unequivocal position against the project and called for even greater American involvement in efforts to prevent Nord Stream II.

During his visit to the United States, Kobolyev met with high-ranking U.S. officials at the National Security Council, Vice President’s office, State Department, Energy Department, U.S. Agency for International development (USAID), Treasury Department, and Congress.