Merkel in Warsaw: Ukraine should remain a gas transit country

Germany and Poland consider that Ukraine should remain a transit country for Russian gas, as this is important for its security.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said this during a joint press conference with Head of the Council of Ministers of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki in Warsaw on Friday, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

“We also have a common goal - Ukraine should remain an important gas transit country, since this is also an element of Ukraine’s security,” Merkel said.

The chancellor, who had visited Kyiv the day before, informed the Polish colleagues about the results of negotiations with the Ukrainian authorities.

Merkel stressed that the views of Germany and Poland coincided in evaluating the actions of Russia, as well as the situation in Ukraine.

“On the one hand, Ukraine has improved the situation in the field of democratization and combating corruption, and on the other hand, there has been poor progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements or the situation in the Sea of Azov,” the chancellor emphasized.

She noted that Germany paid considerable attention to energy security issues. Consequently, Berlin will speed up its plans to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal as Europe’s largest economy seeks to diversify its energy supply.

As reported, the 15th Polish-German intergovernmental consultations led by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were held in Warsaw on Friday.