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FW Steinmeier’s “dubious historical arguments” caused “surprise and indignation” in Kiev, according to a note signed by Ukraine’s ambassador to Berlin, Andrius Melnyk, quoted by the DPA news agency.
In an interview with the German newspaper Rheinische Post, FW Steinmeier defended the gas pipeline project, saying it was one of the last remaining bridges between Russia and Europe.
The German president used the German invasion of the USSR during World War II as an argument.
“In the then Soviet Union, more than 20 million people were victims of war. People.” This does not justify the evils of current Russian politics, but we must not forget the bigger picture, “said FW Steinmeier.
For its part, the Ukrainian note states that Nord Stream 2 is a geopolitical project of Russian President Vladimir Putin that goes against the interests of Ukraine.
“So it is cynical, especially in this debate, to take advantage of the Nazi terrorist regime and attribute to Russia millions of residents of the USSR who have died because of a German war machine,” the note read.
Melnyk said in a statement that not mentioning the millions of Nazi victims in Ukraine, which at that time belonged to the USSR, was a “dangerous distortion of history.”
Ukraine is one of the staunchest critics of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The nearly completed pipeline is expected to supply Germany with 55 billion euros a year. puppy. meters of Russian gas.
Kiev currently receives transit tariffs from Moscow for Russian gas transported to Europe through the territory of Ukraine. Russia intends to reduce the volume of gas in transit next year.
Meanwhile, the United States says the pipeline threatens NATO allies and increases its dependence on Russia, as well as threatening sanctions. Washington has already imposed sanctions on companies that contributed to the construction of the pipeline, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel continues to support the project.
Proponents of the gas pipeline project, in turn, accuse the United States of selling its liquefied natural gas to European countries for profit.
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