Despite the recent intensification of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, German Minister of Economic Affairs Peter Altmaier does not want to move away from the heavily controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline project. The Austrian OMV is also involved in financing the project.
„Russia made a big mistake when it upset the two (Ukrainian) ships in the Sea of Azov and arrested the crews,“ Altmaier said in an interview with Reuters on Sunday. „That did not improve the Russian position in other questions“. At the same time, Altmaier called for a „cool mind“. He does not want to follow demands from the US, Ukraine and his party to stop Nord Stream 2.
Difficult conversations
„Personally, I believe that this project can be carried out while preserving the vital interests of Ukraine,“ said Altmaier. „And these vital interests include that even after 2019, a substantial gas transit through the Ukraine takes place from Russia,“ he explained the central condition that the German government puts on this issue. This is currently being discussed – these talks are very difficult. „We will not reduce our dependency on Russia by torpedoing a pipeline such as Nord Stream 2 and sourcing gas from Russia from other pipelines,“ he said.
Altmaier called for a factual debate on what was in the interests of German and European energy supply. „In the next few years we will have a rapidly growing demand for gas in Europe and Germany,“ he predicted. This concerns not only the gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 under construction. There are also other pipeline projects. If one speaks about a greater independence from Russian gas, one must expand the view altogether.
„Greater independence is only conceivable if, in addition to the long-term supply of gas, we also create an LNG infrastructure in Germany, which means that we can import gas from other countries in the form of liquefied gas if needed.“ This is an area in which there are also large interests of the US, who wanted to sell more liquefied gas to Europe and Germany. „We in the Federal Government agree that we can create an LNG infrastructure in a timely manner,“ said Altmaier. In the process, they have made good progress: „We are (…) currently in the process of clarifying the location issue with private investors.“
Criticism from the USA
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the Germans for their alleged reliance on Russian gas and urged them to stop Nord Stream 2.
Altmaier also commented on the problems of German companies with consequences of US sanctions against other countries such as Iran. „We do everything we can to advise and support the companies concerned,“ he said. In the end, however, the real problems can and should only be solved politically
