Despite the fact that the construction of Nord Stream 2 is approaching completion, Russian-German cooperation still faces more than one test of strength.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated this at the international forum “Primakov Readings,” a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
He noted that the story with gas pipelines did not end with the completion of the first line of Nord Stream 2, and cited comments from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. In particular, the Americans are concerned about finding ways to retain Ukraine's transit fees for gas supplies to the EU. Blinken named one of the options to extend the transit agreement from 2024 for “many, many years to come,” another was to compensate Kyiv for financial losses, “this is something that the Europeans will need to take up.”
“Therefore, the attitude of Europeans towards those issues where we cooperate will be repeatedly tested for strength. I really hope that the German people, as has always been the case in history, will be guided by their own interests. And we are interested in deepening our partnership in the most intimate way. There are many who see the Russian-German partnership and rapprochement as a threat to the transatlantic alliance,” commented Sergei Lavrov.