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Guy Chazan in Berlin, Roman Olearchyk in Kiev and Michael Peel in Brussels
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Germany has urged Russia to continue to deliver gas throughout Ukraine, even after the Nord Stream 2 pipeline enters into service , saying that she was determined to avoid "damage" in Kiev.
Russian, Ukrainian and European officials will meet Tuesday in Berlin to discuss gas deliveries from Kiev, Germany to blame the North Stream 2 for increasing Europe's dependence on to Russian energy at a time of increasing tension with Moscow. will allow Germany to import more gas directly from Russia, bypbading Ukraine, which fears the loss of billions of dollars in annual transit fees.
In an extraordinary explosion at the NATO summit last week, President Donald Trump declared Russia "and asked how NATO could remain united" when a country gets its energy from the person against which you want protection. "
The US State Department also reiterated last week that Western companies investing in Nord Stream 2 were facing US sanctions, calling the project a" Russian tool. " for the political coercion of European countries, especially Ukraine. "the talks will focus on the extension of the gas transit contract between Moscow and Kiev, which will expire at the end of 2019, and on the Establishment of minimum volumes that Russia will deliver through Ukraine
Germany 's position on the 9.5 billion euro project has hardened, the Chancellor Angela Merkel warning her in April that she It could not go ahead without protecting the role of Ukraine as a transit route for Russian gas. reiterated Monday that this week's talks were designed to ensure that Ukraine "remains a transit country for Russian gas". He said that Germany understood that Nord Stream 2 – which has been criticized by some EU partners – had a "political dimension".
Yuriy Vitrenko, commercial director of Naftogaz, a Ukrainian national oil company, said last week in an interview with local magazine Novoye Vremia that lucrative transit fees were under threat. "That's worth less than $ 3 billion a year, minus 3% of Ukraine's gross domestic product," he said. Tuesday's talks will bring together Maros Sefcovic, Vice President of the European Commission, and Alexander Novak, Russian Minister of Energy, as well as the main leaders of Gazprom, the Kremlin-controlled export monopoly of the gas pipeline. , and Naftogaz. [19659005MSFcovicadeclaredthathehopedthatthehigh-levelparticipationwas"acommitmentoftwosides"toreachagreement
Gazprom argues that its new gas fields are in northwestern Russia, which means that Nord Stream 2 saves 2,100 km of transit through compared to the Ukrainian highway and will reduce emissions by 61%
