No Russia-German Pipeline Plan Without Ukraine Role: Angela Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday that plans for a controversial second underwater pipeline to bring gas from Russia could not go forward without Ukrainian involvement in overland transit.

Berlin, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Apr, 2018 ) :German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday that plans for a controversial second underwater pipeline to bring gas from Russia could not go forward without Ukrainian involvement in overland transit.

After months of tension with eastern neighbours and the European Commission over the so-called Nord Stream 2 project, Merkel's concession to Kiev's grave concerns marks a striking shift in policy.

"A Nord Stream 2 project without clarity about the Ukrainian transit role is not possible," Merkel said, after talks in Berlin with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. The German leader said the pipeline plans, which have long thrown a wrench in bilateral ties, had played a big role in their discussions.

Merkel, who had previously called Nord Stream 2 a purely "economic project", admitted Tuesday there were "political factors that must be taken into account". She added that in her talks with Poroshenko, "I listened closely to the concerns of Ukraine".

"The fact is that we cannot allow that, with Nord Stream 2, Ukraine would have no significance at all any more with regard to gas transit," Merkel told reporters at a joint press conference. She noted that while there would "always be dependence on Russian gas", Ukraine relied heavily on income from transit fees.