If only someone had warned the E.U.
From Reuters:
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday there is a choice coming soon on whether to mainline more Russian hydrocarbons or to back Ukraine, peace and stability, amid rising tensions between Moscow and the West.
France and Germany on Monday warned Russia against harming Ukraine’s territorial integrity amid a large and unusual concentration of Russian troops on the country’s borders.
As Europe experiences an energy crunch, Russian President Vladimir Putin is hoping German authorities will soon certify the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that will carry more Russian gas to Europe’s biggest economy.
It would bypass transit countries, particularly Ukraine, which has a history of gas pricing standoffs with Moscow.....
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Oh wait! The Prime Minister of Poland did, 45 months ago!
First posted February 18, 2018:
Natural Gas: "Polish PM: Nord Stream II Would Make Russia Free to act Against Ukraine, So Must Not be Built"
Someone should check in with Victoria "Fuck the EU" Nuland to see what the plan to follow-up on the 2014 regime change in Ukraine was.
Because, despite the fact their first concern is their own energy security, the Poles do have a point regarding their frenemy Ukraine, things could get a bit chaotic for Kyiv if Nord Stream 2 is completed as planned.
Maybe the Ukraine follow-up plan is mixed in the same stack as the follow-up for the "We came, we saw, he died" Libya plan.
Here are three stories on some aspects of the current state of play in Eastern European energy geopolitics.
First up, the Russia-friendly outlet Fort Russ, with the headline article, February 16:....
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There are many more. Here's one from September 2020:
Poland Ready to Offer Germany 'Alternative' to Nord Stream 2: (Norway to Poland Baltic Pipe)
As we've mentioned, most recently in April's The Polish have a saying, “nie mój cyrk, nie moje malpy”, which translates to: “Not my circus, not my monkeys”:
...because of Poland's history the people have an almost genetically endowed talent for punching far above their weight-class (smaller population than California) in the diplomacy/strategy game....If Warsaw can break-up this latest Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Poland will have rendered a huge strategic service to the EU.
And besides, if Russia really wants to sell gas to Germany they can run Novatek's LNG to Germany or to Poland's already expanding Lech Kaczynski LNG Terminal, conveniently located about eight feet from the German border.*....
