Röttgen on Nord Stream 2: "A political weapon in the hands of Putin"

The CDU foreign politician and critic of Nord Stream 2, Norbert Röttgen, has welcomed the agreement between Germany and the United States on the Baltic Sea pipeline.

A permanent dispute between the two states would not have been good, he said on Thursday on Deutschlandfunk.

The agreement is a “demonstration of the will to partner”.

Above all, he welcomed the decision of American President Joe Biden that German-American relations were more important than Nord Stream 2. There was a higher good, that was German-American relations.

At the same time, he still considers the gas pipeline to be wrong.

"It is a political weapon in the hands of Vladimir Putin," said Röttgen, referring to the Russian President.

Röttgen: minimize damage

Russia no longer needs Ukraine as a transit country for its gas exports to Europe. "The project is wrong, it is a threat to independence, the independence of Ukraine." However, being able to prevent the completion of the Baltic Sea pipeline is an illusion, said the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag. “The damage has occurred. (...) Now it is a matter of minimizing the damage. ”The internal development of Ukraine must be strengthened, which is part of the agreement.

Germany and the US have settled their long-standing dispute over Nord Stream 2.

The governments of both states published an agreement on Wednesday evening in which Germany promises to stand up for sanctions against Russia if the gas pipeline is used by Russia to harm Ukraine or other Eastern European countries.

The American government does not want to impose any more sanctions against the completion of the pipeline, it said from government circles.

Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) welcomed the agreement.

He announced on Twitter that it was "a good thing that we and the USA were able to pursue our common goals and convictions again in Russia and energy policy and to agree constructive solutions on the subject of Nord Stream 2".

Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (CDU) also expressed himself positively about the compromise achieved.

"In recent years we have always worked to ensure that Ukraine's legitimate security interests are respected," said the minister.

To this end, he advocates “that the gas transit for Ukraine is extended beyond 2024”.

He is "glad that the transatlantic cooperation is intact again".

The Kremlin announced on Wednesday that Chancellor Merkel and Russian President Putin had expressed their satisfaction with the imminent completion of the controversial pipeline during a phone call.

Putin praised Germany's “commitment” to the project.

Criticism came from Ukraine and Poland. In a joint statement, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitri Kuleba and his Polish colleague Zbigniew Rau condemned the agreement: Such a decision "created additional political, military and energy threats to Ukraine and Central Europe as a whole".