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Joint Statement of People's Deputies of Ukraine

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Joint Statement of People's Deputies of Ukraine JOINT STATEMENT OF PEOPLE'S DEPUTIES OF UKRAINE Appeal to the United States of America and the European Union on the unacceptability of launching Nord Stream-2 Kyiv, July 21, 2021 The Revolu*on of Dignity in 2014 in Ukraine ul*mately resolved Ukraine's geopoli*cal choice and defined the development of our country as a leader in democracy, reform, the rule of law and respect for human rights in Central and Eastern Europe. A successful Ukraine remains the only hope for Russians, Belarusians, Armenians and other peoples in the post-Soviet space to successfully build democracy and prosperous socie*es in their respec*ve countries. Despite the Russian aggression against Ukraine in response to the democra*c European and Euro- Atlan*c choice of the Ukrainian people, despite the aKempted illegal annexa*on of Crimea and the occupa*on of certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, despite ongoing armed aggression and war crimes by Russia, as well as aKacks on our strategic infrastructure, and despite the daily killings of Ukrainian ci*zens, Ukraine does not betray its choice. We are grateful to the European Union, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and other democracies for suppor*ng Ukraine in countering Russian Federa*on’s threats to our statehood, territorial integrity, and sovereignty. At the same *me, we note with deep disappointment the ongoing prepara*ons for the launch of Nord Stream 2, which is another aKempt by the Russian Federa*on to use energy as a tool of hybrid warfare against the West. It poses a direct threat to energy security in Ukraine and Europe, and compromises diversifica*on of energy supply to European consumers. Nord Stream 2 is a purely geopoli*cal project aimed at making Europe dependent on the Russian gas monopoly. Moscow is implemen*ng this project with a view to exacerba*ng and strengthening discordances within the democra*c and European communi*es. The Nord Stream-2 project is also a tool for projec*ng the military force of the Russian Federa*on against NATO countries in Russia's priority Bal*c Sea. From its very beginning, Nord Stream-2 was not an economic project, as the capacity of the Ukrainian gas transmission system makes it possible to increase gas transporta*on to Europe by 2-3 *mes. At the same *me, Nord Stream 2 creates real obstacles to the diversifica*on of energy sources and routes to Europe. Needless to say, Russia's strategic infrastructure projects pose significant corrup*on threats to European democracies. Nord Stream 2 violates European Union an*trust laws and increases opportuni*es for Gazprom to abuse its dominant posi*on in the European market. The project creates condi*ons for Russia's escala*on of military aggression against Ukraine, as well as the con*nua*on of a hybrid war against the EU and NATO. The commissioning of the pipeline will remove Ukraine's important lever to contain Russia, making it vulnerable to the Kremlin's an*- democra*c and an*-reformist vision of Ukraine. This Russian pipeline threatens the na*onal security not only of Ukraine, but also of the whole Europe. We hear assurances from our partners that Ukraine will receive some compensa*on in exchange for agreeing to the launch of Nord Stream 2, as well as our partners' willingness to take tough ac*on if Russia increases its aggression against Ukraine. However, history has repeatedly proved otherwise. Thus, the 1994 Memorandum on security assurances in connec*on with Ukraine's accession to the Treaty on the Non-Prolifera*on of Nuclear Weapons (Budapest Memorandum), which was in par*cular signed by the United States, Great Britain and France, and under which Ukraine voluntarily renounced nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees, did not stop the Kremlin from invasion. We declare with disappointment and concern that the failure to resolve the issue of Ukraine's membership in NATO and the EU, the lack of effec*ve security guarantees, the de facto embargo by some EU and NATO member states on defense arms supplies to Ukraine, pacifica*on, and concessions to Russia on implementa*on of geopoli*cal projects, in fact deny the right of Ukraine to self-defense. In this context, we recall and share the posi*on of the European Parliament, repeatedly expressed in its resolu*ons, on the need to reduce the EU's energy dependence on Russia and call on the EU ins*tu*ons and member states to immediately stop construc*on of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline. Therefore, we call on the United States, the European Union and, in par*cular, Germany to stop the construc*on and further commissioning of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline. The democra*c world must demonstrate to the Russian aggressor the unity and the strength in defending its fundamental values. Ukraine demonstrates this every day by defending the Eastern flank of Europe..
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