President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy brought significant arguments to the talks in Germany against the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which poses both economic and security threats. This was announced by Press Secretary of the President Serhiy Nykyforov during a conversation with the media in Berlin.
"The working visit of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues. As of now, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already met with the Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia. This land alone is one-fifth of the German economy. This is a very important region - there are companies that invest the most in Ukraine. They talked about it, of course," Serhiy Nykyforov said.
He noted that Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, head of the Christian Democratic Union Armin Laschet is the main candidate for the post of German Chancellor, so during the conversation the parties touched upon the whole range of political issues.
"They talked about the security situation, about Germany's role in resolving the situation in Donbas, about the peace process at the level of Normandy and Minsk," Serhiy Nykyforov said.
He also noted that this morning the President of Ukraine met with the Federal President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
"They talked in general about the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, about the course of vaccination in Germany and Ukraine. They talked about reforms in Ukraine. The Federal President was especially interested in de-oligarchization. He expressed hope that in general it will make the investment climate in Ukraine more transparent and attractive for German companies, which will lead to a greater flow of investment to Ukraine," said the President's spokesman.
Serhiy Nykyforov also said that Minister of Energy of Ukraine Herman Halushchenko met with Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier in Berlin to discuss the integration of the energy systems of the two countries. Separately, the parties touched upon the issue of Nord Stream 2, which Ukraine raises during negotiations at all levels. In addition, the ministers of the two countries were to discuss the transformation of the coal regions, as Ukraine is very interested in Germany's experience in this area.
Serhiy Nykyforov noted that a key event of the visit will take place on Monday evening, namely the meeting of the President of Ukraine with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. According to him, the Ukrainian party brought substantial arguments against the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to these talks. In particular, Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived with facts about the detriment of this project to both Ukraine and Europe.
"The President keeps saying that this damage will be of not only economic, but also security nature, and that many countries will become dependent on Russian gas," Serhiy Nykyforov said.
"Volodymyr Zelenskyy always repeats that he will try to stop the construction of Nord Stream 2 until gas runs through it, and even after that. I think this is the maximum program," he added.