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
- Trump Aims to Revive 1,200-Mile Keystone XL Pipeline Despite Major Challenges
- Valero Considers All Options, Including Sale, for California Refineries Amid Regulatory Pressure
- ConocoPhillips Eyes Sale of $1 Billion Permian Assets Amid Marathon Acquisition
- ONEOK Agrees to Sell Interstate Gas Pipelines to DT Midstream for $1.2 Billion
- Energy Transfer Reaches FID on $2.7 Billion, 2.2 Bcf/d Permian Pipeline
- U.S. LNG Export Growth Faces Uncertainty as Trump’s Tariff Proposal Looms, Analysts Say
- Tullow Oil on Track to Deliver $600 Million Free Cash Flow Over Next 2 Years
- Energy Transfer Reaches FID on $2.7 Billion, 2.2 Bcf/d Permian Pipeline
- GOP Lawmakers Slam New York for Blocking $500 Million Pipeline Project
- Texas Oil Company Challenges $250 Million Insurance Collateral Demand for Pipeline, Offshore Operations
Comments