Merkel Criticizes Ukraine and Poland Regarding Russian Gas
According to former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Poland and Ukraine had no objections to Germany purchasing Russian gas while they were benefiting from it. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
Other countries continue to gain from energy trade with Moscow, according to the ex-chancellor.
Former Chancellor Angela Merkel disclosed that both Warsaw and Kiev were supportive of Berlin's imports of Russian natural gas as long as they derived profit from it. In her defense of not depriving the German economy of affordable energy, she emphasized this point.
In an interview with Der Spiegel magazine published on Friday, Merkel was questioned about her decisions during her tenure regarding arming Ukraine, bolstering Germany’s defense capabilities, and reducing reliance on Russian gas.
“Many important aspects are being forgotten today: for example, Ukraine and Poland were not fundamentally opposed to our import of Russian gas as long as it passed through their territory and they received transit fees for it,” she highlighted.
Merkel justified her stance on continuing imports through the Nord Stream pipelines, indicating that ceasing purchases from Moscow in 2014 would have had minimal impact.
“It would have been the same back then if we had broken off all economic ties,” she stated, referencing “other countries” that still purchase Russian gas.
“I saw it as one of my tasks to secure cheap gas for the German economy. We can now see the consequences of high energy prices for our country,” she remarked.
The German economy has faced recession since 2023, experiencing a 0.3% contraction this year and an anticipated further decline of 0.1% in 2024, as noted in the European Commission’s economic forecast released last week. The challenges of rising costs and sluggish economic growth have resulted in increasing corporate bankruptcy rates in the country, as reported by Der Spiegel earlier this week.
Merkel served as Federal Chancellor from 2005 to 2021 during the initial phase of the Ukraine conflict, when Crimea voted overwhelmingly to rejoin Russia after the 2014 Western-backed Maidan coup in Kiev. She was a guarantor of the unsuccessful 2014-15 Minsk agreements, which she later characterized as merely “an attempt to give Ukraine time” and to support Kiev.
The first two underwater Nord Stream pipelines were initiated in 2012, fulfilling about 16% of the EU’s natural gas requirements by 2018, meeting half of Germany’s annual demand by 2021. Two additional pipelines were constructed but never activated, as Berlin ceased certification of Nord Stream 2 under pressure from the US shortly before Russia's military operation in Ukraine. Three of the four pipelines were damaged in September 2022 due to a series of unexplained explosions.
Currently, the EU still acquires approximately 5% of its gas imports from Russia through Ukraine’s gas transit network, according to the Brussels-based economic think tank Bruegel. The transit agreement between Moscow and Kiev is scheduled to expire on December 31.
Max Fischer for TROIB News
Former Chancellor Angela Merkel disclosed that both Warsaw and Kiev were supportive of Berlin's imports of Russian natural gas as long as they derived profit from it. In her defense of not depriving the German economy of affordable energy, she emphasized this point.
In an interview with Der Spiegel magazine published on Friday, Merkel was questioned about her decisions during her tenure regarding arming Ukraine, bolstering Germany’s defense capabilities, and reducing reliance on Russian gas.
“Many important aspects are being forgotten today: for example, Ukraine and Poland were not fundamentally opposed to our import of Russian gas as long as it passed through their territory and they received transit fees for it,” she highlighted.
Merkel justified her stance on continuing imports through the Nord Stream pipelines, indicating that ceasing purchases from Moscow in 2014 would have had minimal impact.
“It would have been the same back then if we had broken off all economic ties,” she stated, referencing “other countries” that still purchase Russian gas.
“I saw it as one of my tasks to secure cheap gas for the German economy. We can now see the consequences of high energy prices for our country,” she remarked.
The German economy has faced recession since 2023, experiencing a 0.3% contraction this year and an anticipated further decline of 0.1% in 2024, as noted in the European Commission’s economic forecast released last week. The challenges of rising costs and sluggish economic growth have resulted in increasing corporate bankruptcy rates in the country, as reported by Der Spiegel earlier this week.
Merkel served as Federal Chancellor from 2005 to 2021 during the initial phase of the Ukraine conflict, when Crimea voted overwhelmingly to rejoin Russia after the 2014 Western-backed Maidan coup in Kiev. She was a guarantor of the unsuccessful 2014-15 Minsk agreements, which she later characterized as merely “an attempt to give Ukraine time” and to support Kiev.
The first two underwater Nord Stream pipelines were initiated in 2012, fulfilling about 16% of the EU’s natural gas requirements by 2018, meeting half of Germany’s annual demand by 2021. Two additional pipelines were constructed but never activated, as Berlin ceased certification of Nord Stream 2 under pressure from the US shortly before Russia's military operation in Ukraine. Three of the four pipelines were damaged in September 2022 due to a series of unexplained explosions.
Currently, the EU still acquires approximately 5% of its gas imports from Russia through Ukraine’s gas transit network, according to the Brussels-based economic think tank Bruegel. The transit agreement between Moscow and Kiev is scheduled to expire on December 31.
Max Fischer for TROIB News
