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Ukraine leader tells Scholz Russia using gas link as ‘weapon’

Ukraine needs 800 mn euros in urgent energy sector aid: Zelensky
Source: Wikimedia Commons

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday told Germany’s visiting Chancellor Olaf Scholz that Russia was wielding its Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline as a “geopolitical weapon”.

The controversial energy link bypassing Ukraine has been a growing irritant in Germany’s relations with Washington and Kyiv.

“We have certain disagreements in our assessments” of the Russia-Germany energy link, Zelensky said, after talks with Scholz in Kyiv.

“We clearly understand that it is a geopolitical weapon.”

Russia has completed the building the pipeline, which runs under the Baltic Sea, but German regulators are yet to approve its use.

US President Joe Biden has warned that he would find a way to “bring an end” to the project should Russia invade Ukraine.

Without mentioning Nord Stream 2 by name, Scholz said that “no one should doubt the determination and preparedness” of Berlin to punish Russia in case it attacks its neighbour.

“We will act then and they will be very far-reaching measures that will have a significant impact on Russia’s economic development opportunities,” Scholz said.

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AFP

Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency.







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