German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his government is committed to safeguarding Ukraine’s role as a transit route for gas into Europe as Russian troop movements along the Ukrainian border increased pressure on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
Nord Stream 2, which would carry Russian gas to Germany and bypass Ukraine, has not been certified due to regulatory hurdles, while Poland and the US have demanded a halt to the pipeline should Russia invade Ukraine.
Germany’s new government, sworn in on Wednesday, has not made a public commitment to block it.
During his first visit to Poland as chancellor, Scholz said Germany felt responsible for ensuring Ukraine’s gas transit business was successful, echoing his predecessor Angela Merkel.
He said: “The same goes for future opportunities.
“We will also help Ukraine be a country that will be a major source of renewable energy and the necessary production that results from that. We are in concrete talks around how we can help achieve that.”
But Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki argued the pipeline “increases the ability of the Kremlin to put pressure on Ukraine and the European Union.”
He added: “We’re very nervous about the scenarios that could take place after the opening of Nord Stream 2.”
He added that other Eastern European countries could be “blackmailed” by Russia.
He continued: “That’s why I told the chancellor about the great risks involved in opening Nord Stream 2.”
Merkel had said the political basis for operating Nord Stream 2 was Russia’s commitment to continue to use Ukraine as a gas transit route.
READ MORE: Biden and Germany to block Nord Stream 2 if Russia invades Ukraine
Mr Scholz said in Poland: “It is important that Europe makes clear together that we will not accept this and that we do not agree with what is happening there.
“We will not accept a violation of those borders.”
Mr Scholz’s visit also included talks on the Belarus migrant crisis and Poland’s judicial independence.
Germany has backed Poland’s efforts to stop the flow of migrants seeking entry from Belarus – a crisis the European Union has accused Minsk of engineering – and said it would help Warsaw and Brussels to find a solution.
Poland, and also Hungary, is embroiled in a long-running row with the European Union over issues including judicial independence, press freedom and LGBT rights, a dispute that has intensified with Brussels taking legal action against Warsaw and Budapest.
Mr Scholz said he hoped that Poland and the EU would find a solution.
Mrs Merkel faced criticism that she could have done more to stop democratic backsliding in the east of the EU.