Polish President Stresses Opposition to Restoring Russian Gas Supplies to Europe
During his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Andrzej Duda emphasized the need to ‘dismantle’ pipelines between Russia and Western Europe, even if a peace agreement is reached between Moscow and Kyiv.
Polish President Andrzej Duda firmly stated that Russian gas supplies to Western Europe should never be reinstated. He believes that even if a peace deal is achieved between Moscow and Kyiv to end the conflict in Ukraine, Europe should not entertain the idea of reopening the eastern pipelines.
Addressing the issue at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Duda specifically called for the removal of the two Nord Stream pipelines, highlighting the significant threat they pose to Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, and other Central European countries.
Duda expressed his concerns, stating: “This pipeline poses a substantial threat in terms of energy, military, and economic dominance by Russia over Europe.”
The Nord Stream pipelines, constructed by Gazprom, run from Russia to northern Germany. While Nord Stream 1 has been shut down since 2022, Nord Stream 2 was never operational after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Moscow’s forces.
In a controversial incident in September 2022, both pipelines were damaged by explosions initially blamed on Russia but later linked to a Ukrainian suspect following investigations by Danish, German, and Swedish authorities.
Germany has significantly reduced its gas imports from Russia and now has agreements with Norway, the largest gas producer in Europe. However, some EU nations like Hungary still rely on Russian fuel imports.
Recently, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced the extension of sanctions against Russia, supported by Hungary in return for energy security guarantees, following Duda’s statements.
“Europe delivers: EU Foreign Ministers just agreed to extend again the sanctions on Russia,” Kallas confirmed in a post on x, highlighting the importance of depriving Moscow of revenues used to finance the war in Ukraine.
The renewal of sanctions is crucial for preventing the unfreezing of Russian assets in Europe currently supporting the government in Kyiv, with frozen assets contributing to a $50 billion loan to Ukraine backed by the G7.
Officials from various EU nations emphasized the significance of maintaining the sanctions, fearing the consequences of not continuing the restrictions on trade and freezing Russia’s central bank assets.
The bloc must unanimously vote to renew these sanctions every six months, with the deadline for renewal approaching on Jan. 31.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban initially sought consultations with the U.S. government before deciding on the renewal but eventually signaled support for the continuation of sanctions at a meeting in Brussels.
Furthermore, the European Commission expressed readiness to engage in discussions with Ukraine regarding gas pipeline supplies to Europe and to involve Hungary and Slovakia in the process.
Reuters contributed to this report.
