WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s prime minister on Monday called a planned Russian gas pipeline, Nord Stream 2, a “new hybrid weapon” and says Moscow wants to use it to undermine NATO and the European Union. Mateusz Morawiecki called Nord Stream 2 “a poisoned pill of European security” as he addressed a NATO Parliamentary Assembly meeting in Warsaw. The Nord Stream 2 project would double the amount of natural gas Russia can funnel directly to energy-hungry Germany from newly tapped reserves in Siberia, intentionally skirting Eastern European nations like Poland and Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested that the US opposition to the Nord Stream 2 stems from President Donald Trump’s desire to encourage exports of the US liquefied natural gas, which is supplied by ship and is considerably more expensive than Russian supplies. Polish President Andrzej Duda also gave his own warning of Russian intentions in Eastern Europe.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer May 28, 2018 09:11 UTC