REUTERS
The ministry official noted that if it weren't for a strong alliance between Poland and the U.S., the issue of the Nord Stream 2 "would have already been settled."
The Polish Foreign Ministry said that the existing cooperation between Russia and Germany on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project is reminiscent of Nazi Germany's cooperation with the USSR before World War II, that's according to Deputy Foreign Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk
The official noted that during the 70th anniversary of the beginning of World War 2, when Russian President Vladimir Putin was received in Westerplatte [a peninsula in the harbor of Gdansk, where the first battle of the Second World War took place], Polish authorities harbored "false hopes" over that visit, European Pravda reported with reference to Polskie Radio 24.
"A certain naivety reigned in our relations with Russia," he added.
According to the official, Putin's address at said event was critical of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact.
However, the diplomat noted, the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline later started, which could resemble cooperation between Russia and Germany dating decades back.
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"The gas pipeline bypassing Poland and the Baltic states is precisely such an agreement 'over the heads of others'," Szynkowski said.
According to him, if it weren't for a strong alliance between Poland and the U.S., the issue of the Nord Stream 2 "would have already been settled."
"A protest against the construction of Nord Stream 2 is not hopeless, and this is due to an alliance with the United States," the official said.
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.
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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 $3 billion annually. The project is also highly criticized by the U.S., Poland, and Baltic States.