Byerlin and Washington came to an agreement on the issue of Nord Stream-2, which prescribes measures against Russia if it uses gas supplies “as a weapon” against Ukraine, Bloomberg found out
Angela Merkel held talks with Joe Biden in Washington
Germany will take retaliatory measures if Russia uses gas supplies “as a weapon” against Ukraine. This is reported by Bloomberg with reference to the draft version of the draft agreement between the United States and Germany on the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline.
Germany will not only take measures itself, but will also insist on taking similar steps at the European level, including sanctions to restrict Russian energy exports.
According to the agency, the agreement between Berlin and Washington will be signed in the coming days before the visit of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to the United States. According to the draft agreement, the United States and Germany will seek to increase investments of up to $1 billion in the “green fund” of Ukraine to help it switch to clean energy. The text of the document states that Germany undertakes to invest an initial $175 million in the fund.
In addition, Germany will appoint a special envoy to support bilateral energy projects with Ukraine. The financing of this mission will amount to about $70 million
“Finally, the agreement will oblige Germany to use leverage to extend the gas transit agreement between Ukraine and Russia for up to ten years after its expiration in 2024. These negotiations will begin no later than September 1, ” writes Bloomberg.
A senior US official, who requested anonymity, said in an interview with the agency that the wording in the document was deliberately drawn up in an ambiguous form, since Washington does not want the Russian authorities to come up with a plan of action in advance. He did not rule out that one of the measures may be the restriction of gas supplies from Russia to Germany.
The press secretary of the President of Russia, Dmitry Peskov, did not respond to a request from Bloomberg to comment on the new US-German agreement.
“Nord stream-2″ to connect Russia and Germany for the supply of Russian gas to European consumers. Initially, the pipeline was supposed to be completed at the end of 2019, but the United States began to impose sanctions against the project participants, which caused its construction to be delayed. Now the project is almost 98% ready.
Washington believes that “Nord Stream-2” threatens the energy security of Europe, since Russia can use gas supplies as a lever of pressure. In addition, the United States believes that the project may deprive Ukraine of transit fees for transporting Russian gas through its territory.
Last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel held talks with US President Joe Biden in Washington, during which they discussed ways to resolve the dispute over the Nord Stream-2. Merkel said that the parties assess the project differently, and recalled that Ukraine will still carry out transitRussian gas even after the launch of a new gas pipeline. At the same time, she promised that Germany will “act actively” if Russia does not respect Ukraine’s rights to transit fuel. The Chancellor clarified that we are talking about a certain “set of tools” that can be used not by Germany itself, but by the European Union.
In Kiev, Biden and Merkel were dissatisfied with the negotiations. The press secretary of the Ukrainian president, Sergei Nikiforov, noted that it is still unclear how the United States and Germany are going to ensure gas transit through Ukraine after the launch of the Nord Stream-2.
Zelensky himself said that because of the gas pipeline, Ukraine could lose at least $3 billion in revenue per year. “Nord Stream-2” will disconnect Ukraine from gas supplies, which means that it will disconnect us from at least $3 billion a year. <..."We will have nothing to pay for the Ukrainian army," the head of state said.
In June, Bloomberg wrote that Washington and Berlin intend to compensate Kiev for the losses it will suffer in connection with the launch of the Nord Stream-2. We are talking about compensation for losses from the reduction of transit fees, as well as investments in the Ukrainian energy sector. In particular, the possibility of building a large-scale production of pure hydrogen in Ukraine for Europe’s transition to hydrogen energy is being discussed.
RBC on YouTube Live broadcasts, videos and recordings of broadcasts on our YouTube channel