WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th June, 2021) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he was "surprised" to learn through the press and not directly, via official channels, that US President Joe Biden had decided to waive sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline for the sake of relations with Berlin.
"It still seems to me that Nord Stream 2 according to our understanding ... is a weapon, a real weapon, and I speak openly about it. A weapon in the hands of the Russian Federation, and it is not very understandable, I feel, and definitely not expected, that the bullets to this weapon can possibly be provided by such a great country as the United States. ...this decision... Unfortunately, it is definitely not aimed at supporting Ukraine. That is why I said that I was indeed surprised," Zelenskyy said in an interview with Axios.
The Ukrainian leader said there had been "direct signals" from Washington that the Biden administration was prepared to block the pipeline.
"That is why, again, we were very unpleasantly surprised," Zelenskyy said, adding that "the second surprise was indeed that I learned about it through the press."
The Ukrainian president expressed certainty that Biden could still block the Nord Stream 2 project and compared the US president to Michael Jordan.
"I still believe after all, that Biden is a Jordan in politics. I think that his final three-pointer is not in the net yet, and I would like to believe that this is all part of his tactics. If this is not the case, that will be a great pity, not only for me, but for the United States as well, I am sure. There will be a feeling that in these circumstances Russia will have a great chance to prevail over the United States," Zelenskyy said.
On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the construction of the first line of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was finished, while the second line was in the process of getting built.
German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Friday that negotiations between advisers of US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the Nord Stream 2 project will continue in Washington.
