Photo from UNIAN
This is another powerful political signal emphasizing that the Kremlin’s projects are dangerous and that they need to be stopped.
The Russian Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream gas pipelines bypassing Ukraine are the Kremlin's levers of political and economic pressure on other states, which from now on is the official position of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly.
"The Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream projects are Russia's levers of political and economic pressure on other states. This is not only the opinion of Ukraine but, henceforth, the official position of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA)," the Naftogaz CEO wrote on Facebook.
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"This is another powerful political signal emphasizing that the Kremlin’s projects are dangerous, they need to be stopped," wrote Kobolyev.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the Organization for Security and Cooperation of Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly's Committee on Political Affairs and Security has adopted a resolution on energy security in Europe, which mentions and criticizes the Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream gas pipelines.
The document identifies the said Russian projects as potential means of economic and political coercion of states dependent on energy supplies
UNIAN memo. The Nord Stream 2 project envisages the construction and operation of two gas pipeline branches with a total throughput capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year from the coast of Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany. It should connect Russia's Ust-Lug and Germany's Greifswald.
This new pipeline bypassing Ukraine is to be built next to the existing Nord Stream 1 pipeline. The construction of the pipeline should be completed before the end of 2019. The length of the pipeline will be 1,220 km.
The project is being implemented by Russia's Gazprom in alliance with European companies – ENGIE, Uniper, OMV, Shell, and Wintershall.
Ukraine stands against the construction of Nord Stream 2 as it will most likely lose its status of a gas transit country and its possible revenue losses are estimated at billions of U.S. dollars. The project is also highly criticized by Poland and the Baltic countries.