Steel pipes for the North Stream 2 pipeline are uploaded in Mukran harbour in Sassnitz, Germany. (source: AP/TASR)
Slovakia has no reservations about US President Donald Trump’s critical words concerning Germany, which has agreed with Russia on the construction of the controversial North Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, Slovak President Andrej Kiska and State Secretary of the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry Ivan Korčok said on Wednesday in Brussels at the NATO summit, as reported by the TASR newswire.
The US president warned before the summit that Germany is entering into extensive oil and gas deals with Russia at a time when it’s necessary to be on guard against Russia. He pointed out that in this context Germany is a “captive of Russia”.
Trump said on Tuesday, July 10, that the agreement to build North Stream 2 that would link Germany and Russia across the Baltic Sea was inappropriate. Washington has long objected to this project.
Kiska pointed out that the role of countries such as Slovakia is to find alternative routes for gas supplies so that they are not dependent solely on Russia.
“Nord Stream 2 is nothing but a strengthening of the dependence on Russian natural gas, with the existing capacity of Nord Stream 1 and the Druzhba pipeline being used at less than 50 percent, so we automatically ask why Nord Stream 2 is needed,” said Kiska, as cited by the TASR newswire.
Asked by the media whether it’s appropriate for statesmen to bring issues of a purely economic nature to the NATO summit, Korčok stated that the US president said it as he really felt it.
“Not only Trump but Slovakia too has reservations about Nord Stream 2,” said Korčok. “We don’t consider this project to be in line with the principles we have in the European Union, namely the building of an energy union.”
Korčok explained that the Slovak government does not see any benefit in the project with regard to the reduction of dependence on a single gas supply route, but sees it in exactly the opposite light.
“From time to time, I personally consider it to be good when leaders speak in plain language,” said Korčok, referring to Trump’s stance.
