The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia would not be allowed to operate in the event of any new “escalation” in Ukraine, under an agreement between Berlin and Washington, new German Minister of Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock said on Sunday.
“In the event of further escalation, this gas pipeline could not come into service,” Baerbock told German television station ZDF.
Baerbock was speaking after the weekend G7 meeting on tensions with Russia, and ahead of a sit-down with her European partners yesterday.
Photo: AFP
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had earlier said during a visit to Poland: “It would be a serious mistake to believe that violating the borders of a European country would remain without consequences.”
The pipeline, which has been backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the one hand and by Scholz’s predecessor, former German chancellor Angela Merkel, on the other over the past few years, has been heavily criticized by many countries.
Ukraine — until now one of the major transit countries for Russian gas to Europe, as well as fighting Russian-backed separatist forces inside its own borders — fears that it would be economically and diplomatically weakened by the project, which bypasses its territory.
Scholz said that Germany would “do anything” to ensure that Ukraine remains a transit country for Russian gas exports to Europe.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki asked Scholz to suspend the pipeline, saying that Moscow would use it to “blackmail” Europe.
The call came as Scholz visited Warsaw for the first time since replacing Merkel last week, on his third foreign visit, following trips to Paris and Brussels.
“It would be better not to allow the opening of Nord Stream 2,” Morawiecki told a joint news conference with Scholz after their talks.
“I drew the chancellor’s attention to the risks linked to the opening of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and sadly the extent to which ... these risks for Ukraine could get considerably worse,” Morawiecki said.
Poland has long opposed the 10 billion euro (US$11.3 billion) pipeline, which is majority owned by Russian gas giant Gazprom.
The 1,200km pipeline, which runs underwater from Russia’s Baltic coast to northeastern Germany, was completed in September.
However, Baerbock said that the pipeline “cannot be authorized for the time being anyway, because it does not meet the rules of European energy legislation.”
In the middle of last month, the German energy regulator suspended the certification procedure for Nord Stream 2 by requiring the Swiss-based consortium in charge of its operation to create a company under German law.
Yemen’s separatist leader has vowed to keep working for an independent state in the country’s south, in his first social media post since he disappeared earlier this month after his group briefly seized swathes of territory. Aidarous al-Zubaidi’s United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces last month captured two Yemeni provinces in an offensive that was rolled back by Saudi strikes and Riyadh’s allied forces on the ground. Al-Zubaidi then disappeared after he failed to board a flight to Riyadh for talks earlier this month, with Saudi Arabia accusing him of fleeing to Abu Dhabi, while supporters insisted he was
‘SHOCK TACTIC’: The dismissal of Yang mirrors past cases such as Jang Song-thaek, Kim’s uncle, who was executed after being accused of plotting to overthrow his nephew North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has fired his vice premier, compared him to a goat and railed against “incompetent” officials, state media reported yesterday, in a rare and very public broadside against apparatchiks at the opening of a critical factory. Vice Premier Yang Sung-ho was sacked “on the spot,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency said, in a speech in which Kim attacked “irresponsible, rude and incompetent leading officials.” “Please, comrade vice premier, resign by yourself when you can do it on your own before it is too late,” Kim reportedly said. “He is ineligible for an important duty. Put simply, it was
The Chinese Embassy in Manila yesterday said it has filed a diplomatic protest against a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman over a social media post that included cartoonish images of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela and an embassy official had been trading barbs since last week over issues concerning the disputed South China Sea. The crucial waterway, which Beijing claims historic rights to despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, has been the site of repeated clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels. Tarriela’s Facebook post on Wednesday included a photo of him giving a
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday announced a deal with the chief of Kurdish-led forces that includes a ceasefire, after government troops advanced across Kurdish-held areas of the country’s north and east. Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said he had agreed to the deal to avoid a broader war. He made the decision after deadly clashes in the Syrian city of Raqa on Sunday between Kurdish-led forces and local fighters loyal to Damascus, and fighting this month between the Kurds and government forces. The agreement would also see the Kurdish administration and forces integrate into the state after months of stalled negotiations on
RSS