(Newswire.net— August 19, 2018) — Chancellor Merkel hosted Russian leader at the Schloss Meseberg palace outside Berlin, during a surprise visit announced earlier this week. And while trench-lines are unlikely to shift on the status of Crimea or Bashar Assad’s future, the Nord Stream 2 issue is a live one because Russia and Germany are set to benefit trillions from the proposed gas pipeline.
The most important agreement that directly confronts the sanctions forced by the US is the establishment of the joint company North Stream 2, the deal Germany Chancellor Merkel and Russian Federation President Putin was agreed on at a meeting on Saturday.
The North Stream 2 is a multi-billion dollar project for the construction of two more pipelines with a capacity of 55 billion cubic meters with the same route as the North Stream gas pipeline which runs directly from the coast of Russia to the coast of Germany putting America as an energy supplier of the EU in an inferior position.
The two new 1,200km-long underwater lines, doubling the previous capacity, have been issued with permits by every country en-route from northern Russia to the German coast, apart from Denmark, whose parliamentary dithering over abstract “security concerns” is unlikely to delay completion beyond its scheduled date in 2020, Russia Today reports.
The deal, however, puts not only Ukraine, but also puts Slovakia in an unenviable position as those countries have governments that are pledged to the interests of Washington.
Speaking on Saturday, Merkel said “Ukraine must continue to play a role in the transit of gas to Europe once Nord Stream 2 is in place,” and according to the two leaders the project is set to go. However, in order to avoid US meddling the pipeline projects exclude Ukraine for now which could put Kiev in danger of losing its gas supply.
“It is certainly a geopolitical project aimed to weaken Ukraine. To do everything to leave Ukraine without profits from the existing gas transport system.” Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said in July.
Germany represents the driving force in the EU for reestablishing economy connections with Russians directly opposing US interests in Europe. That would mean that the US would use any political leverage to undermine the project and the only way to do so is to keep Ukraine and Slovakia unstable. However, Russian President Putin agreed with German Canceller that “the Nord Stream 2 pipeline would not “close the door to shipping gas through Ukraine”.