In Germany, the statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukraine would have to show “goodwill” if gas should continue to flow through the country has caused irritation and criticism. Government spokesman Steffen Seibert told the FAZ: “For the federal government it was and is central that Ukraine must remain a gas transit country even with Nord Stream 2. With the transit agreement - which came about through the mediation of the EU and the federal government - Russia and Ukraine have set the course for this and set an important signal for guaranteeing the security of the European gas supply - and we expect that this joint agreement will also be complied with. ”The CDU - Foreign politician Johann Wadephul said it was urgent“That there will be a continuation of the gas supply program for Ukraine without political conditions”.

Friedrich Schmidt

Political correspondent for Russia and the CIS in Moscow.

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    Gerhard Gnauck

    Political correspondent for Poland, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania based in Warsaw.

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      Markus Wehner

      Political correspondent in Berlin.

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        The matter will be discussed at the summit of Putin and American President Joe Biden in Geneva.

        Germany and the USA are in agreement, however, that “we should stand together very closely to prevent Ukraine from being politically blackmailed”.

        The SPD foreign politician Nils Schmid said that Putin's statements were "not helpful, but irritating".

        He assumes, however, that Russia will adhere to the agreement on gas transit.

        Ukraine will not accept blackmail.

        The CDU politician Norbert Röttgen was much more critical. "Putin is blackmailing Ukraine before Nord Stream 2 is even finished," he wrote on Twitter. The Russian President uses the pipeline "exactly as the weapon the Poles, Balts and Ukrainians have always believed it to be". Green MP Manuel Sarrazin said: "Those who sow Nord Stream 2 will reap Russian imperialism." The completion of one of the two strings of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, claimed by Russia, has also raised concern in Ukraine.

        Interior Minister Arsen Avakov referred to this and said after an exercise by the police and border guards near the border with Russia over the weekend that “provocations and attempts at terrorist attacks” are expected in the country. There is "enough information from the secret services". After such events, Moscow will say: “Look, this is precisely why we are routing our gas through Nord Stream 2.” Therefore, Kiev is examining various scenarios and is in the process of strengthening its reaction mechanisms on objects of critical infrastructure such as gas pipes and dams.

        During an economic forum in Saint Petersburg on Friday, Putin said that Ukraine would have to show “goodwill” if it wanted to remain a transit country for Russian gas to the EU, as a treaty valid until 2024 provides.

        With a view to the progress of Nord Stream 2, which should enable more direct gas deliveries to Germany, and the conflict over parts of eastern Ukraine occupied by Russian and pro-Russian forces, Putin also set conditions for how Ukraine should behave: it should Not using money for their army and not for “solving the Donbass problem by force”, but for promoting their economy and giving people jobs.

        Critics argue that Russia keeps breaking treaties

        The federal government presents the transit agreements for Ukraine as a guarantee that the country can continue to generate income from the gas business despite Nord Stream 2.

        On the other hand, critics point out that Russia has repeatedly broken treaties, particularly with regard to Ukraine, when it was politically opportune for Putin.

        20 years ago, Ukraine was still the largest customer of Russian gas in the world and at the same time the most important transit country.

        It now gets its gas from other countries and from its own production, and transit to the EU has decreased to 56 billion cubic meters in 2020.

        In Kiev, some are still hoping that Nord Stream 2 can be "stopped" or at least its effects can be mitigated.

        Switlana Salishchuk, advisor to the Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz, said: "The American Congress has the cards in hand, and Ukraine is doing everything to ensure that it comes into play."