Zelensky calls Nord Stream 2 a “weapon” against Ukraine and Europe

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KIEV (Sputnik) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline connecting Russia and Western Europe a weapon that Moscow could use against his country.

“The biggest challenge for Ukraine at the moment in this [energy] sphere is the completion and launch of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Its operational launch is not linked to the economy. It is a weapon against Ukraine and, I am sure, it will be a weapon against all of Europe in the future, “he said.

Zelensky, who spoke at a Ukrainian political forum on Monday, called on Western allies to torpedo the project, which aims to transport 55 billion cubic meters of gas a year through the Baltic Sea, bypassing Ukraine . Russia has repeatedly denied using gas contracts as a tool, while Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states have urged Europe to cease cooperation with Moscow and supported the sanctions imposed by the United States against the project.

© AP Photo / Ronald Zak

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the media during a joint press conference with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz after their meeting at the Federal Chancellery in Vienna, Austria, Tuesday, September 15, 2020.

The Ukrainian economy relies on money from the transit of Russian gas: according to the head of the Ukrainian operator GTS, Sergiy Makogon, the country’s economy would lose 5 to 6 billion dollars per year if the Nord Stream 2 were launched, including $ 1.5 billion that Kiev would lose if Russia suspended gas. transit.

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