Arseniy Yatsenyuk on “Nord Stream 2”: The EU must demonstrate that the energy security of Europe and Ukraine is no less important than their military security

“The European Union and Ukraine need to be united when it comes to the energy sector. The fictitious guarantee that Ukraine will remain a transit-country after the construction of Nord Stream 2 will not hold true,” stated Ukrainian Prime Minister (2014-2016) and founder of the “Open Ukraine” Foundation, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, during the 12^th Kyiv Security Forum.

If Nord Stream 2 gets built, regards Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Ukraine will be stripped of transit, if Nord Stream 2 is built — Europe will be even more reliant on Russian gas. 

“Whoever and whatever they tell us, that we will sign a memorandum or a contract and receive transit guarantees — we already signed the Budapest memorandum, we already received guarantees. Maybe this time it’ll be enough?” he said.

“Europe needs to take a unified stance and demonstrate that the energy security of Europe and Ukraine is no less important than their military, army, or political security,” emphasized Arseniy Yatsenyuk. 

FOR REFERENCE:

This year’s Kyiv Security Forum, which took place on April 11-12, gathered a record number of participants — over 1000. Among them — high ranking representatives of state and statehood, diplomats, and experts from over 20 countries.  

The annual “Kyiv Security Forum” was initiated by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk “Open Ukraine” Foundation in 2007. Since then, the Forum has become a platform for high-level, international discussions about relevant matters of national security, as well as the security of the Black Sea region, Europe, and the world.