Ukraine's MFA Revealed Russia's Plans to Sabotage Turkish Stream and Blame Ukraine
On Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine called on Western partners to warn against Russia's energy terrorism, declaring the impossibility of lifting sanctions against Moscow or restarting Nord Stream 2.
The ministry emphasises that Russia has unsuccessfully tried to persuade European governments to make concessions, including lifting sanctions, with energy blackmail, as the Ukrainian MFA states.
"Therefore, Putin decided to move from blackmail to terrorism — physical damage to the energy infrastructure. His goal is to disrupt supply routes and issue an ultimatum: launch Nord Stream 2 because you have no other choice. Public hints of such a scenario have already been heard from Russian officials," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes.
They add that Ukraine constantly monitors Russian actions that show signs of preparation for the implementation of this strategy, and informs its partners about them. Thus, earlier The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, publicly warned about Russia's preparations for possible damage to the Ukrainian gas transport infrastructure.
"We also have information on possible similar plans of Russia regarding the Turkish Stream," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs claims.
Kyiv rejects Moscow's accusation that it is allegedly involved in planning actions against the energy infrastructure, calling it an "informational cover-up for Russia's own malicious plans."
"The Ukrainian side insists that the only way partners can prevent the Russian energy terrorism is to take a firm position now and publicly declare that there will be no conditions for the launch of Nord Stream 2 or the lifting of sanctions from Russia," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.
Russian President Vladimir Putin again stated that Russia could supply gas to Europe through the surviving branch of Nord Stream 2 or via an alternative route across Turkey (i.e., Turkish Stream).
Nord Stream 2 did not get certified before the invasion of the Russian Federation in Ukraine and is not yet in use. It is sanctioned as of today.