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German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Sunday for an agreement to extend Russian gas transit through Ukraine, and said that Germany wanted to help Ukraine transition to renewable energy.
She made the statement just days after pressing the
Russian president
to extend Moscow's gas transit deal with Ukraine that expires in 2024 as Ukraine fears losing transit fees once Nord Stream 2 comes online.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the joint press conference with Merkel on Sunday that Kiev sees the soon-to-be completed Nord Stream 2 pipeline carrying Russian gas to Europe and bypassing Ukraine as "a dangerous geopolitical weapon."
He added that the main risks after its completion will be "borne by Ukraine" but that the pipeline will also be dangerous "for all of Europe."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (R) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attend a joint news conference following their talks at the Mariyinsky Palace in Kyiv, Ukraine, August 22, 2021. /Reuters
The pipeline "will only play into the hands of the Russian Federation," Zelensky said.
For her part, Merkel said Berlin agrees with Washington that "gas must not be used as a geopolitical weapon."
"It will come down to if there is an extension to the transit contract via Ukraine – the sooner the better," she said.
Merkel, on her last visit to the Ukraine capital before retiring next month as chancellor, said negotiations to expand the gas transit agreement are getting underway.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy (R) and Angela Merkel at the welcoming ceremony before their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, August 22, 2021. /Reuters
Germany had also made commitments to support Ukraine to renew its energy mix and will support the development of renewable projects with a total of 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) via bilateral projects.
One idea for the future was to use the current gas pipelines to transport hydrogen. "But this is a project that still has to be developed step by step and that cannot replace gas transit in 2024," she said.
(With input from Reuters, AFP)
