Poland ready to help Ukraine become independent of Gazprom - Ambassador

Kiev, June 4 - Neftegaz.RU. Ukraine needs to start real work with Poland and other countries to become independent of Gazprom and avoid political gas blackmail in the future, Polish Ambassador to Ukraine Bartosz Cichocki has said in an interview with the Glavcom news site.

He said that Poland, in addition to opposing the completion of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, was working to diversify gas supply sources.
Cichocki noted:

• In the near future, we will become completely independent of Gazprom's gas supply
• And if there is interest from Ukraine, we are ready to help your country also be independent of Gazprom
• It seems to me that this option has no alternatives, because Russia does not have enough gas to sell it through a gas pipeline running through Ukraine if Nord Stream 2 starts operating

According to the ambassador, the completion of the Nord Stream 2 project will not cause economic losses to Poland, as LNG terminals have already been built in the country and the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline is being built from Norway to Poland.
He said:

• Besides, we received small funds from transit
• We always protect ourselves from political blackmail
• As for the negative consequences for you, if Nord Stream 2 is launched, you must calculate them accurately
• Perhaps, you need to start real work with Poland and other countries already now in order to avoid such blackmail in the future

Ukrainian President V.Zelensky said at a meeting with a delegation from the U.S. Congress on June 2 that Nord Stream 2 would cut off Ukraine from gas supplies, which would lead to a loss of at least $3 billion a year.