Ukrainian President will visit Germany to discuss Nord Stream-2
President Petro Poroshenko intends to visit Germany before April and discuss with German authorities the issue of the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, as he stated in an interview with Ukrainian TV channels.
"In the coming days, within 2-3 weeks, I'm going to visit Germany ... This topic (Nord Stream-2) will certainly be on the agenda of our talks," he said, answering a question about Germany's reluctance to abandon the project.
Poroshenko stressed that many European countries are on Ukraine’s side in opposing the construction of the gas pipeline.
In February, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Nord Stream 2 is an economic project that does not pose a threat to the diversification of energy supplies to Europe.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said during the Munich Security Conference that the project and liberalization of the gas market cannot be abandoned for political reasons. He also criticized the US initiative to impose sanctions against companies involved in the construction of North Stream-2, and on the contrary, proposed to begin lifting sanctions against Russia in phases in the event of its consent to the UN peacekeeping mission in the Donbas.
Earlier, German environmentalists disputed the construction of Nord Stream-2 in court.
Nord Stream-2 is a project to build a gas pipeline with a capacity of 55 billion cubic meters from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea. It is assumed that the route along the seabed, as well as the entry point to the German gas transmission system in Greifswald, will be the same as for the first Nord Stream launched in 2011.
In November last year, Denmark adopted a law that would prohibit the construction of Nord Stream-2 through its territory. Poland is also against the construction of the pipeline.