Ukraine’s president says Nord Stream 2 is a ‘dangerous geopolitical weapon’

Ukraine sees the soon-to-be-completed Nord Stream 2 pipeline carrying Russian gas to Europe as “a dangerous geopolitical weapon”, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday.

“We view this project exclusively through the prism of security and consider it a dangerous geopolitical weapon of the Kremlin,” Zelensky said during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Kiev.

Merkel called for an agreement to extend gas transit through Ukraine.

“Gas should not be used as a geopolitical weapon,” she said.

“We agree with the Americans that gas must not be used as a geopolitical weapon and it will come down to if there is an extension to the transit contract via Ukraine,” Merkel said, referring to the expiry of Moscow’s agreement with Kiev in 2024.