Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andrij Melnyk on Tuesday admitted that there existed disagreements between Kiev and Berlin related to the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, calling it an test of the two countries' strategic partnership.
KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th September, 2018) Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andrij Melnyk on Tuesday admitted that there existed disagreements between Kiev and Berlin related to the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, calling it an test of the two countries' strategic partnership.
"The Nord Stream 2 is one of the greatest tests for the strategic partnership of Ukraine and Germany. We have disagreements with Germany here. This is a fact," Melnyk told Ukrainian news outlet Evropeiska Pravda.
According to the ambassador, some progress on the issue was made after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's latest visit to Berlin, where he had talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"After these talks, the position of the German government has started to prescribe an important thing for us � the existence of guarantees of [gas] transit through Ukraine. And since then, this position has only strengthened in Berlin," Melnyk added.
The Nord Stream 2 project envisages the construction of two gas pipelines that will run from Russia, through the Baltic Sea and and to a hub in Germany, bypassing Ukraine entirely. The project is a joint venture of Russian energy giant Gazprom, France's Engie, Austria's OMV AG, UK-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, and Germany's Uniper and Wintershall.
The Nord Stream 2 project has been welcomed by some countries in Europe, such as Germany and Austria, and opposed by others, including Eastern European states, such as Ukraine, which currently transfers Russian gas to Europe and may suffer transit revenue drops if Nord Stream 2 becomes operational.
In April, Merkel said at a joint press conference with Poroshenko in Berlin that the implementation of the Nord Stream2 project would be impossible without clearly determining the role of Ukraine as a transit route.
