Polish PM warns of possible Russian aggression after Nord Stream 2 launch

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki sharply
criticized Western corporations on Nov. 18 for their cooperation with the
Russian government in building the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline bypassing
Ukraine and Poland. “German politicians insist that Nord Stream 2 is a business
project, but no one believes that, he told the FOTAR2018 conference in Hamburg,
as reported by the money.pl news site. “Imagine what can happen if the
Ukrainian gas-transit system becomes unnecessary. What will stop Vladimir Putin
from an offensive on Kyiv?”

Morawiecki’s comment is a lame statement, Russian
Presidential Administration Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the next day. “Nord Stream
2 is a commercially advantageous and economically justified project,” he said,
as reported the tass.ru news site. “It’s economically attractive not only for
the supplier, the Russian Federation, but gas recipients in Europe, Germany
above all. The alternative to Russian pipeline gas is liquefied gas, including
American. But its production is more expensive, noticeably more.”

Zenon Zawada: Polish officials have begun using Ukraine’s security as a key argument
against Nord Stream 2, which also hurts its economic and geopolitical
influence. Apparently, arguments on Poland’s behalf could be less convincing,
even on an emotional level. While the threat of Putin militarily occupying
Ukraine exists, it’s a low threat in the short term because it simply would be
too costly. Instead, the Kremlin plan is for Ukrainians to cause their own
demise through next year’s elections, in which Russian-oriented forces are
likely to make significant gains.