President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky, claiming that the geopolitical position of the Russian Federation has strengthened after Denmark’s decision on Nord Stream 2, is trying to intimidate Europeans by weakening their positions due to cooperation with Moscow, said Sergei Zheleznyak, member of the State Duma’s Committee on International Affairs.
Denmark is the last of the countries through which Nord Stream 2 should pass by land or sea, has issued a permit for the construction of a section of the gas pipeline connecting Russia and Germany on its shelf southeast of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky called Denmark’s Nord Stream 2 decision to strengthen Russia’s geopolitical position and weaken Europe’s position.
“With Denmark’s decision to coordinate the construction of Nord Stream 2, the Ukrainian authorities’s hopes of disrupting the implementation of the Russian-European gas project are disappearing. That is why the words of the president of Ukraine are such disappointment and yet another, but futile attempt to frighten Europeans by weakening their position because of for cooperation with Russia, “said Zheleznyak, quoted by his press service.
As the parliamentarian notes, sensible European politicians are well aware of the benefits of a reliable supply of Russian gas without unpredictable intermediaries such as Ukraine.
“Kiev should carefully weigh its political steps on the topic of energy supply. Despite all kinds of provocations in Kiev, our country has always met with questions of gas supplies through Ukraine, since Russia is obviously more worried about the Ukrainian people than the Ukrainian authorities,” Zheleznyak added.
The Nord Stream 2 project involves the construction of two pipelines of a gas pipeline with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year from the Russian coast through the Baltic Sea to Germany. The pipeline will pass through territorial waters or the exclusive economic zones of Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany.
The operator of the Nord Stream-2 project, Nord Stream 2 AG, is working to complete the construction of the gas pipeline in the coming months, the timing of laying the section in Danish waters depends on the weather and permit conditions that the company is already studying, RIA Novosti was told in the press service of Nord Stream 2 AG . As the head of Gazprom Alexei Miller told reporters, the operator of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline project intends to complete it on time, laying in Denmark may take five weeks. Previously, it was planned to complete the pipeline in 2019.