Germany: Ukraine Must Remain Gas Transit Country After New Pipeline
BERLIN (Reuters) — Germany said Ukraine should remain a transit country for Russian gas, the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper reported, after President Vladimir Putin said it would depend on the former Soviet republic showing "goodwill" towards Moscow.
Putin said on Friday that Ukraine's role as a transit country was not assured once the Nord Stream 2 pipeline linking Russia and Germany was complete.
Germany, which has backed the pipeline in the face of fierce opposition from the United States and many European countries who say it deprives Ukraine of crucial leverage over its eastern neighbor, has always insisted it must remain a transit country.
"For the German government it remains central that Ukraine should remain a transit country even after Nord Stream 2," government spokesperson Stefffen Seibert said.
Germany expected Russia to adhere to an existing inter-governmental agreement committing it to sending gas via Ukraine, he was quoted as saying in the newspaper report.
"With their transit agreement, negotiated in part by the EU and Germany, Russia and Ukraine created the framework for this," he said. "We expect this agreement to be adhered to."
The gas transit treaty expires in 2024, but can be extended.
Others within the government were more critical.
Nils Schmid, a foreign policy spokesperson for the Social Democrats - junior partners to Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives - said Putin's comments were "not helpful, but irritating".
Opposition parties, including the Greens who are running the conservatives a close second in polls ahead of September's national election, have said the pipeline should be scrapped.
Related News
Related News
- Kinder Morgan Proposes 290-Mile Gas Pipeline Expansion Spanning Three States
- Valero Plans to Shut California Refinery, Takes $1.1 Billion Hit
- Three Killed, Two Injured in Accident at LNG Construction Site in Texas
- Tallgrass to Build New Permian-to-Rockies Pipeline, Targets 2028 Startup with 2.4 Bcf Capacity
- TC Energy Approves $900 Million Northwoods Pipeline Expansion for U.S. Midwest
- U.S. Pipeline Expansion to Add 99 Bcf/d, Mostly for LNG Export, Report Finds
- Enbridge Adds Turboexpanders at Pipeline Sites to Power Data Centers in Canada, Pennsylvania
- Great Basin Gas Expansion Draws Strong Shipper Demand in Northern Nevada
- US Poised to Become Net Exporter of Crude Oil in 2023
- EIG’s MidOcean Energy Acquires 20% Stake in Peru LNG, Including 254-Mile Pipeline
Comments