22 July 2021, Thursday, 14:44 164

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry Would Like To Hear Tougher Statements By United States And Germany As For Ukraine’s Security Within Nord Stream-2 Issue – Kuleba

Редактор: Tetiana Herasimova

Foreign Affairs Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, would like to hear a stronger and clearer message from a joint statement by the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany as for the Russian natural gas pipeline project Nord Stream 2 underway in a detour of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian minister said this at a joint briefing with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Peter Szijjarto in Kyiv, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

“We now have a number of questions about how the American-German agreement can reduce the security risks for Ukraine and the countries of Central Europe associated with the launch of Nord Stream 2,” he said.

Kuleba assured that Ukraine will discuss this issue with the United States and Germany.

“We have always honestly said that for us Nord Stream 2 is primarily a security issue. We would like the wording in the German-American statement regarding security to be stronger,” he stressed.

According to him, the Ukrainian side is still studying the economic part of the statement and will be ready to publicly present its position when it comprehensively and in detail analyzes the proposals of the United States and Germany.

"But there is a fundamental problem. It is connected with the fact that it is still not clear to us whether Russia is ready to fulfill its obligations properly when it comes to energy security and the preservation of the transit role of Ukraine," Kuleba said.

He added that the United States and Germany, Ukraine and Poland can agree on something, "but the main beneficiary of the crisis is Russia."

"This is the main question, the answer to which is not yet available, and which we need to work on," the minister concluded.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the Federal Republic of Germany will unlikely guarantee the prolongation of the natural gas transit agreement between Ukraine and the Russian Federation until 2034.

He stressed that in the absence of transit of Russian gas through the territory of Ukraine, there is a risk of full-scale military aggression from Russia.

He is also convinced that in order to resist Nord Stream 2, sanctions should be imposed on the Swiss company Nord Stream AG, which is actually a Russian company.

Germany has promised to use all levers to ensure the prolongation by up to 10 years of the natural gas transit agreement between Ukraine and Russia.

It was emphasized that the United States and Germany are united in their desire to hold Russia accountable for its aggression and malicious actions by imposing costs through sanctions and other instruments.

It is noted that Germany will abide by the "letter and spirit" of the Third Energy Package in relation to Nord Stream 2 to ensure separation and access by third parties.

Through the US-German climate and energy partnership, they decided to create a pillar to support the energy transition in emerging economies.

This component will include support for Ukraine and other countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

In line with these efforts, Germany is committed to establishing and managing a Green Fund for Ukraine to support Ukraine's energy transition, energy efficiency, and energy security.

The United States plans to support the initiative through technical assistance and political support in line with the fund's objectives, in addition to programs to support market integration, regulatory reforms, and the development of renewable energy in Ukraine's energy sector.

It will also include technical assistance for Ukraine's integration into the European power grid, building on the ongoing work and coordinated by the European Union and the US Agency for International Development.

In addition, Germany will facilitate Ukraine's inclusion in the German Cyber Capacity Building Fund, support efforts to reform Ukraine's energy sector, and help identify options for modernizing Ukraine's gas transport systems.

Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin have discussed the possibility of extending the agreement between Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom and the Naftogaz of Ukraine national joint-stock company on gas transit after 2024.