Financial Times: Merkel warns Nord Stream 2 must protect Ukraine role

Published April 10, 2018 at 10:01 pm

German Chancellor Angela Merkel gives a press conference with the Polish Prime Minister on February 16, 2018 at the Chancellery in Berlin.Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki visits Berlin in a bid to thaw frosty ties after the relationship between the two neighbours was strained by issues including refugee quotas and Warsaw's judicial reforms.

Photo by AFP

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project can only go ahead if Ukraine’s role as a transit country for Russian gas is protected.

Her remarks suggested a hardening of the German position in relation to the €9.5bn infrastructure project, which aims to double the amount of gas Russia can deliver via the Baltic Sea to Germany. The 1,200km pipeline will run from Vyborg in Russia to Lubmin in Germany, allowing Russian gas producer Gazprom to circumvent the more costly route through Ukraine.