Chair of the Russian upper house's Foreign Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev said on Tuesday that the Kerch Strait incident, which involved Russia seizing Ukrainian ships and their crews, might be connected with the United States' opposition to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th December, 2018) Chair of the Russian upper house's Foreign Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev said on Tuesday that the Kerch Strait incident, which involved Russia seizing Ukrainian ships and their crews, might be connected with the United States' opposition to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.
On Monday, US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Francis Fannon called on all countries participating in Nord Stream 2 to withdraw from the project as it allegedly posed a threat to the European security.
"The [US] pressure on the project and Europe will increase. One cannot rule out that Kiev's provocation in the Kerch Strait, after which the intra-European attack on Nord Stream 2 were immediately intensified, were inspired by the United States. That is why if Germany and other countries resist, one can expect some new incidents aimed at discouraging [EU countries] from cooperating with the 'aggressor,'" Kosachev told reporters.
According to the lawmaker, the next possible provocation may envisage a new Ukrainian offensive in the eastern region of Donbas, or a new chemical weapons provocation in Syria.
Kosachev noted that the United States wanted to target the Nord Stream 2 project in order to continue the ongoing Russophobic campaign and sanctions policy; weaken Russia as an alternative to US liquefied natural gas supplies to Europe; as well as to preserve non-Western sources of revenue for Ukraine, which is now a key transit country for Russian gas supplied to the European Union.
On November 25, three ships of the Ukrainian Navy � Berdyansk, Nikopol, and Yany Kapu � breached the Russian border, entered Russian territorial waters that were temporarily closed, and began moving toward the Kerch Strait, which serves as the entrance into the Sea of Azov. The Ukrainian vessels and their crew were detained by Russia after failing to respond to a lawful demand to stop.
In response to the incident, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree declaring martial law in several Ukrainian regions located near the Russian border, and the coasts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the provocation could be linked to Poroshenko's low approval ratings ahead of the presidential campaign set to start in late December.
