Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki expects from the new government of Germany, which will replace Angela Merkel's cabinet, a sharper position on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
The Polish prime minister said this in an interview with the German DPA agency.
Nord Stream 2 is becoming a tool for blackmailing Ukraine and Moldova.
It also acts as a tool to manipulate energy prices.
I expect that the new German government will do everything possible to prevent the transformation of Nord Stream 2 into an instrument from President Putin's arsenal, "Moravetsky said.
The politician also accused Russia of being involved in a potential energy crisis in Ukraine.
“They (Ukrainians -
RT
) depend on Russian supplies of oil, gas and even coal.
According to some analysts, Russia's energy blackmail could lead to a shortage of electricity in Ukraine, ”he said.
This is not the first recent statement by Morawiecki against Nord Stream 2.
Earlier, the Polish prime minister in an interview with Bild called on Olaf Scholz, who is likely to become the next chancellor of the FRG, to stop the gas pipeline and not give Russia "extra money" for energy resources.
Mateusz Morawiecki
AP
© John MacDougall
Against this background, Axios, citing a classified document that the German Embassy in Washington sent to the US Congress, reported that the current German government called on American lawmakers not to impose sanctions on Nord Stream 2, noting that the pipeline poses no threat to Ukraine.
Recall that the cabinet of Angela Merkel and the CDU / CSU bloc, which supported the project, may resign by the end of the year.
The new coalition government will be formed with the participation of the Green Party, which supports the anti-Russian agenda and criticizes Nord Stream 2.
So, the other day the co-chairman of the Greens and the candidate for the post of Minister of Economy Robert Habek said that the gas pipeline is not a commercial project.
According to him, he makes German politics dependent and puts pressure on Ukraine.
Earlier, similar statements were made by his colleague Annalena Berbock, who is predicted to become the minister of foreign affairs in the new cabinet.
At the same time, at the end of September, Olaf Scholz spoke out in support of Nord Stream 2, stating, however, the need for guarantees to preserve Ukraine's status as a transit country for Russian gas.
"If we are asked to increase more, we are ready."
Russia has repeatedly stated that the Nord Stream 2 project is purely commercial in nature, and has rejected claims of alleged plans to use it or gas supplies through other channels as a geopolitical weapon.
In mid-October, at the Russian Energy Week forum, Vladimir Putin called such statements "politically motivated chatter" and recalled that Moscow is following its contractual obligations to supply energy to Europe.
“Even during the most difficult periods of the Cold War, Russia regularly, on an ongoing basis, fully fulfilling its contractual obligations, supplied gas to Europe,” the president stressed.
He also noted that Russia is increasing gas supplies to Europe even in difficult conditions for itself.
Gazprom increased gas supplies to Europe by about 10%, and taking into account LNG, gas supplies to Europe increased by 15%, and we are ready to do this further, "Putin said.
Moreover, the head of state announced his readiness to additionally increase gas exports if the Europeans ask for it.
According to him, Russian companies have never refused foreign partners in their requests for the supply of raw materials in excess of the existing contracts.
“If we are asked to increase more, we are ready to increase it more.
We increase as much as our partners ask us.
There is not a single refusal.
Not a single one, ”Putin stressed.
"The priority is good relations"
At the same time, a conflict between the administration of President Joe Biden and Congress, many of whose members are in favor of tightening restrictions against the Russian gas pipeline, is flaring up in the United States on the issue of sanctions pressure on Nord Stream 2.
Despite the imposition of restrictions on the Transadria company and the Marlin vessel participating in the project, US senators are demanding further tightening of the screws.
Thus, Republican Senator Ted Cruz considered the actions of the White House too soft.
"This ... is a typical example of the mixture of inconsistency and weakness that characterized foreign policy under Biden and the Biden-Harris administration, and which does unmeasurable harm to the national security of the United States and our allies," Cruise said in a statement.
USA congress
Gettyimages.ru
© drnadig
In turn, the presidential administration (in particular, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken) does not want to impose sanctions on German companies associated with the project.
Sources of The Hill in the Senate report that the head of American diplomacy is calling for blocking the adoption of an amendment to the draft defense budget, which provides for sanctions against Nord Stream 2 AG and other companies involved in testing and certification of the pipeline.
“Apparently, they themselves create procedural problems in order to avoid voting, which could have harsh political consequences.
The Democrats are very nervous about the vote on Nord Stream 2, because they were against it under the previous administration, but the situation is different under Biden, "said a Senate source for The Hill with direct knowledge of the situation.
The publication also writes that the White House does not want to introduce broader sanctions that could affect German companies, so as not to damage relations with the Federal Republic of Germany, which were seriously undermined by the actions of the Donald Trump administration.
At the same time, analysts interviewed by RT find it difficult to predict the policy of the new coalition government of Germany in relation to Nord Stream 2.
“There are figures in the coalition who criticized the energy project during the election campaign.
In particular, the same Annalena Berbock.
She repeatedly and quite emotionally spoke about this.
It can be expected that she and her party will try to pursue their line and influence the decisions of the new cabinet regarding the project, ”suggested Vladimir Olenchenko, senior researcher at the Center for European Studies, IMEMO RAN.
At the same time, from his point of view, the adoption of new sanctions in the US Congress depends on what individual Democratic politicians consider more priority - containing Russia or building relations with European allies.
Pavel Feldman, Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of the RUDN University, for his part, notes that the statements of the Polish Prime Minister are a clear signal to the German Greens.
"As you know, the co-chair of the Greens, Mrs. Berbock, is very anti-Russian, so it is obvious that she will do everything possible to freeze Nord Stream 2 or, if possible, even block its work," the expert emphasized.
At the same time, he doubted that the United States would nevertheless introduce any significant new restrictions on the energy project, since stable relations with Europe are important for the current administration.
“During the presidency of Donald Trump, America made a very vigorous effort to obstruct the construction of Nord Stream 2.
This was done for economic reasons, because Trump expressed the interests of the US gas and oil workers.
He was simply trying to remove a strong competitor in the form of Russia from the world energy market, but the interests of gas and oil workers are not so important to Biden, his priority is good relations with Germany, ”Feldman argues.
He recalled that German business had been asking Washington, the EU leadership and official Berlin for a very long time not to interfere with Nord Stream 2 and not to impose any additional sanctions that would hinder cooperation in the energy sector.
“Now Biden is demonstrating that for him the interests of European partners are more important than the gas lobby represented by Republican senators,” the interlocutor of RT stated.