Polish President Andrzej Duda on Tuesday called for a ‘complete dismantling’ of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
“When Russia is at war against Ukraine, when it attacks, occupies, the change of policy in the West implies not only the suspension of Nord Stream 2, but also the liquidation, the complete dismantling of the pipeline,” he said during a visit to Kiev.
Nord Stream 2, a pipeline running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, was completed last year but had not been put into operation due to bureaucratic setbacks over its certification in Berlin before the start of the conflict in Ukraine.
Opinions in Europe vary over what the fate of the pipeline should be, as the region is struggling with dwindling gas supplies, while Nord Stream 2 could provide an additional 55 billion cubic meters of gas annually. The vice president of Germany’s Bundestag, Wolfgang Kubicki, for instance, last week called for activating the pipeline “as soon as possible” to fill European gas storages ahead of winter.
“The gas via Nord Stream 2 is no more immoral than the one coming via Nord Stream. It's just a different pipe. There is no sound reason not to open Nord Stream 2,” he said.
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