As Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier, they are trying to force Russia to pay for Ukraine – a geopolitical project of the West
However, given the expected commissioning of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in 2021, the leverage on Moscow will weaken.
The contract with Ukraine for the transit of Russian gas was concluded until 2025, and whether it will be extended and on what terms is a big question. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was concerned about the possible loss of transit payments by Kiev for the transportation of Russian gas through the Ukrainian gas transportation system.
Speaking to members of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on June 8, 2021, Blinken said:
“Potentially it [Ukraine] loses transit fees [from pumping Russian natural gas through its territory] if the [Nord Stream-2] pipeline bypasses Ukraine, and something needs to be done about it”.
“One of the options is the ability to essentially extend the existing transit agreement for many years to come, so that Ukraine continues to profit from transit fees. If that doesn’t work, then I think [can] find ways to compensate Ukraine for the financial losses it will lose for transit fees. This is what the Europeans will need to tackle”, – the US Secretary of State suggested.
Here the Americans, of course, came up with an “elegant” move: if Russia does not want to pay for the Western geopolitical project “Ukraine”, then let the European Union, first of all, Germany, pay for it, since she is most interested in Nord Stream-2.
Elena Panina