The President of Poland has said that gas streams from Russia to Western Europe should never be restored, even if Russia and Ukraine reach a peace agreement.
Andrzej Duda told the BBC that Nord Stream Gas Pipelines, which has not been used since 2022, “should be settled”.
This, he said, would mean that Germany would not be tempted to restore Russian supplies to increase its own fighting economy.
“I can only hope that European leaders will learn lessons from Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and that they will push through a decision to never restore the pump of gas through this pipeline,” he said.
The Polish president, who spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, insisted that economic sanctions against Russia work and European countries should withstand pressure from companies to restore business associates.
Nord Stream Gas Pipelines was built by Russia’s gas giant Gazprom and run between Russia and Northern Germany.
Nord Stream 1 was closed down in 2022 and Nord Stream 2 was never used after the invasion of Ukraine. Both were damaged by explosions in 2022.
Gas prices in Europe rose after the shutdown, and in recent months politicians from Germany’s right of the right -of -way DEP Party have suggested that Nord Stream Gas pipe should resume operations.
Germany is holding federal elections in late February.
“I think Nord Stream Pipelines should be dismantled,” Duda said. “This pipeline causes a very major threat to Ukraine, Poland, to Slovakia, but also to other Central European countries.”
He added: “It is a threat from the view of energy from the military’s point of view, but it is also a huge financial threat because it means a dominance of Russia over Europe in the economic sense.”
At the prospect of an agreement between Ukraine and Russia now that US President Donald Trump has joined, Duda insisted that no peace talks could be found without Ukrainian’s participation.
“I say so as the president of the Republic of Poland, as a neighbor of Ukraine and also as president of a country that has had very tough historical experiences themselves,” he said.
“I speak here and refer to World War II and to Yalta, where we were not included in these conversations, where certain appointments were made beyond our heads, and then we were behind the Iron Curtain, where we were for almost 50 years. Part of the Soviet sphere of influence, ”he said.
Trump had previously said he would negotiate a solution to Russia’s invasion of full scale of Ukraine, launched in February 2022 in 24 hours – he has since recognized it could take some time.
Duda said it would be “a violation of international law” for Russia to be allowed to hold onto the territory it has occupied in Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin has said he is prepared to negotiate a cessation of the war that first began in 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea, but Ukraine had to accept the reality of Russian territorial gains, which are currently approx. 20% of its land.
Putin also refuses to accept Ukraine who joins NATO, the Western Countries Military Alliance.
Duda said: “The international community cannot agree, and it is unacceptable that Russia would take certain territories in Ukraine and hold them by force. This is unacceptable.
“We may not let Russia win this war.”
Duda said Trump “understands the region” and US involvement would be key.
“President Donald Trump – as leader of the most powerful country within NATO, as the leader of the most powerful economy – will be important,” Duda said.
“I am waiting peacefully for the first steps that will be taken by Donald Trump.”